By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
On a five-game road trip with the Toronto Raptors, Sandro Mamukelashvili has scored at least 20 points in three of four outings, including 22 for a 110-98 victory versus the Portland Trail Blazers in Moda Center on Friday. Starting and lasting 34:51, he went for 9/15 field goals, besides six rebounds, four assists, and one steal. “He’s been playing a lot of minutes every night, and also understanding that he can play through mistakes,” mentioned Serbian head coach Darko Rajakovic in a postgame interview, commenting on the recent displays of the 26-year-old Georgian forward in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season.
With Austrian Jakob Poeltl (lower back strain) still unavailable, the Raptors jumped to 28-19 with a third straight away win. For the Blazers, Israeli Deni Avdija (lower back strain) was ruled out for the second half of a back-to-back after an early exit on Thursday, but Belgian starter Toumani Camara went for 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal over 37:05, French Sidy Cissoko returned the starting linep with three points, three rebounds, one block, and one steal in 32:35, and French reserve Rayan Rupert registered one rebound and one assist over 15:49.
In his best performance since his recent return to action, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis posted a 24-point, 16-rebound double-double to go with six assists and one steal, lasting 30:43, but the Sacramento Kings fell, 123-118, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Rocket Arena. Also coming off the bench, German Dennis Schroder went for 21 points plus four assists and four rebounds in 31:08, and French starter Maxime Raynaud was held to one rebound and 9:11. Croatian Dario Saric fell shy of Doug Christie’s rotation once more.
Moving to Little Caesars Arena to complete a back-to-back on the road, the Houston Rockets pulled away in the second half to prevail, 111-104, over the Detroit Pistons. Following Kevin Durant’s 32 points, Turkish Alperen Sengun tallied 19 points to go with five assists, two steals, and one rebound over 30:23. Lasting 16:28, Swiss backup Clint Capela got five points, nine rebounds, three blocks, one steal, and one assist. For the hosts, Swedish Bobi Klintman stayed on the bench.
Spoiling a 47-point effort by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Indiana Pacers held on for an upset in Paycom Center, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-114. French Ousmane Dieng logging 13:30 for seven points, two blocks, two rebounds, and one assist shaped the only European showing, since his Thunder teammates, German Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus strain), Serbian Nikola Topic (testicular surgery recovery), and Belgian Ajay Mitchell (abdominal strain), were among several players on the sidelines.
With Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis) and French Zaccharie Risacher (left knee bone contusion) remaining on the inactive list, alongside College Park Skyhawks regular, Serbian Nikola Djurisic, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns, 110-103, in State Farm Arena. Czech Vit Krejci was available but limited to one assist and 5:23. On the wrong end, Devin Booker and Jalen Green were forced to early exits due to injuries.
Croatian Karlo Matkovic produced five points, six rebounds, one steal, and one assist in 14:52, helping the New Orleans Pelicans get a win, 133-127, in FedExForum against the Memphis Grizzlies. On the opposite side, Spanish Santi Aldama (right knee soreness) was unavailable for Finnish head coach Tuomas Iisalo.
Friday results
Detroit Pistons – Houston Rockets 104-111
Atlanta Hawks – Phoenix Suns 110-103
Brooklyn Nets – Boston Celtics 126-130 2OT (104-104, 118-118)
Cleveland Cavaliers – Sacramento Kings 123-118
Memphis Grizzlies – New Orleans Pelicans 127-133
Oklahoma City Thunder – Indiana Pacers 114-117
Milwaukee Bucks – Denver Nuggets 100-102
Portland Trail Blazers – Toronto Raptors 98-110
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 32-11
2. Boston Celtics 28-16
3. Toronto Raptors 28-19
4. New York Knicks 26-18
5. Cleveland Cavaliers 26-20
6. Philadelphia 76ers 24-19
7. Orlando Magic 23-20
8. Miami Heat 23-22
9. Chicago Bulls 22-22
10. Atlanta Hawks 22-25
11. Milwaukee Bucks 18-26
12. Charlotte Hornets 17-28
13. Brooklyn Nets 12-31
14. Indiana Pacers 11-35
15. Washington Wizards 10-33
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 37-9
2. San Antonio Spurs 31-14
3. Denver Nuggets 31-15
4. Houston Rockets 27-16
5. Los Angeles Lakers 26-17
6. Minnesota Timberwolves 27-18
7. Phoenix Suns 27-18
8. Golden State Warriors 25-21
9. Portland Trail Blazers 23-23
10. Los Angeles Clippers 20-24
11. Dallas Mavericks 19-26
12. Memphis Grizzlies 18-25
13. Utah Jazz 15-30
14. Sacramento Kings 12-34
15. New Orleans Pelicans 11-36
-Top 6 teams from each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth from each conference advance to the Play-Ins