By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Starting a five-game road trip on the heels of a loss by a margin of 55 points, the Utah Jazz took down the Cleveland Cavaliers, 123-112, in Rocket Arena on Monday. “We just played together, and played hard, played as a team,” said Finnish Lauri Markkanen in a postgame interview, after returning from his latest one-game absence in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season with a 28-point, 12-rebound double-double on 8/16 from the field, including three triples. Recovering from a left first MTP strain and missing two straight contests, Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic posted an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double. Fellow European starter, Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, threw in 11 more points after being a healthy scratch over the last two team outings.
Croatian starter Ivica Zubac paired nine points with 11 rebounds, and French reserve Nicolas Batum added nine points for the Los Angeles Clippers in a win, 117-109, versus the Charlotte Hornets in Intuit Dome. Swiss Yanic Konan Niederhauser was limited to 26 seconds, and Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic (left hamstring injury management) remained out. For the visitors, French Moussa Diabate registered a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double in a start, but fellow French option Tidjane Salaun did not enter the game.
After ruling out Russian Egor Demin (left plantar fascia injury management) and featuring Israeli Ben Saraf in the G League with the Long Island Nets, the Brooklyn Nets fell to the Dallas Mavericks, 113-105, in American Airlines Center. Available for Spanish head coach Jordi Fernandez, French Nolan Traore and Israeli Danny Wolf went for six and three points, respectively.
The starting center of the Boston Celtics, Portuguese Neemias Queta, settled at 15 points in a narrow loss, 98-96, against the Indiana Pacers in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Off the bench, Bosnian Luka Garza and Spanish Hugo Gonzalez reached six and two points. In contrast, Ukrainian Max Shulga and British Amari Williams did not play.
With Austrian Jakob Poeltl (low back strain) remaining sidelined, Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili produced eight points for Serbian head coach Darko Rajakovic in a loss, 115-102, for the Toronto Raptors against the Philadelphia 76ers in Scotiabank Arena. Turkish Adem Bona did not score for the Sixers.
Monday results
Cleveland Cavaliers – Utah Jazz 112-123
Indiana Pacers – Boston Celtics 98-96
Toronto Raptors – Philadelphia 76ers 102-115
Dallas Mavericks – Brooklyn Nets 113-105
Sacramento Kings – Los Angeles Lakers 124-112
Los Angeles Clippers – Charlotte Hornets 117-109
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 28-10
2. New York Knicks 25-14
3. Boston Celtics 24-15
4. Toronto Raptors 24-17
5. Philadelphia 76ers 22-16
6. Orlando Magic 22-18
7. Cleveland Cavaliers 22-19
8. Miami Heat 20-19
9. Atlanta Hawks 20-21
10. Chicago Bulls 18-20
11. Milwaukee Bucks 17-22
12. Charlotte Hornets 14-26
13. Brooklyn Nets 11-26
14. Washington Wizards 10-28
15. Indiana Pacers 9-31
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 33-7
2. San Antonio Spurs 27-12
3. Denver Nuggets 26-13
4. Minnesota Timberwolves 26-14
5. Los Angeles Lakers 23-14
6. Phoenix Suns 24-15
7. Houston Rockets 22-14
8. Golden State Warriors 21-19
9. Portland Trail Blazers 19-21
10. Memphis Grizzlies 17-22
11. Los Angeles Clippers 16-23
12. Dallas Mavericks 15-25
13. Utah Jazz 14-25
14. Sacramento Kings 10-30
15. New Orleans Pelicans 9-32
-Top 6 teams from each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth from each conference advance to the Play-Ins