By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
British starter OG Anunoby stood out at Madison Square Garden on Friday, delivering a game-high 31 points with seven three-pointers to lead the New York Knicks to a massive 136-96 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The blowout win featured a diverse European bench effort, featuring Poland’s Jeremy Sochan with seven points, France’s Mohamed Diawara and Germany’s Ariel Hukporti with six points each, and France’s Pacome Dadiet adding five. The visitors struggled as Lithuanian starter Matas Buzelis managed 11 points and French starter Guerschon Yabusele had five, while France’s Noa Essengue remained out due to season-ending shoulder surgery.
Elsewhere in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season, Tristan da Silva and Franz Wagner combined for 37 points at American Airlines Center to help the Orlando Magic overcome a 51-point masterpiece by Cooper Flagg and defeat the Dallas Mavericks 138-127. Da Silva led the German contingent with 19 points off the bench, while starting Wagner added 18 in his second game back from injury, supported by two points from Georgia’s Goga Bitadze. France’s Noah Penda remained scoreless while Germany’s Moritz Wagner did not play. The Mavs saw Greek John Poulakidas held without a point.
Turkish starting center Alperen Sengun pushed the Houston Rockets to their fifth consecutive win, recording 19 points and five assists in a 140-106 dismantling of the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. Swiss veteran Clint Capela chipped in two points, two blocks, and four rebounds. The visitors played without Finnish star Lauri Markkanen and Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic due to injuries, with Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk remaining on the bench.
French starter Maxime Raynaud continued his stellar rookie campaign at Golden 1 Center, shooting 11/14 from the field for 28 points to lead the Sacramento Kings past the New Orleans Pelicans 117-113. Fellow Frenchman Killian Hayes added five points, with Lithuanian star Domantas Sabonis remaining sidelined. The Pels were missing Croatian Karlo Matkovic for a second straight game due to back spasms.
Spanish head coach Jordi Fernandez saw his Brooklyn Nets fall 141-107 to the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center after Israeli Danny Wolf formally joined Russian Egor Demin on the season-ending injury list. However, French starter Nolan Traore put up 13 points and Israeli Ben Saraf added two in a lopsided loss. France’s Zaccharie Risacher got two points on the winning side.
Serbian play-caller Darko Rajakovic guided the Toronto Raptors to a 128-96 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum, getting ten points from Georgia’s Sandro Mamukelashvili and eight from Austrian starter Jakob Poeltl. On the wrong end, Finnish coach Tuomas Iisalo saw Frenchmen Rayan Rupert and Adama Bal combine for six points while Spanish forward Santi Aldama remained sidelined.
At Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-103 as Turkish reserve Adem Bona contributed two points. The Wolves’ European starters went from Italy’s Donte DiVincenzo with 11 points to France’s Rudy Gobert with 16 rebounds to go with his five points, though French backup Joan Beringer did not play.
Finally, the Charlotte Hornets beat the Indiana Pacers 129-108 at Spectrum Center despite the absence of injured French starter Moussa Diabate. While the visitors lacked sidelined Croatian Ivica Zubac, the hosts kept French Tidjane Salaun and British Tosan Evbuomwan with the G League’s Greensboro Swarm.
Friday results
Charlotte Hornets – Indiana Pacers 129-108
Philadelphia 76ers – Minnesota Timberwolves 115-103
Brooklyn Nets – Atlanta Hawks 107-141
New York Knicks – Chicago Bulls 136-96
Houston Rockets – Utah Jazz 140-106
Memphis Grizzlies – Toronto Raptors 96-128
Milwaukee Bucks – Boston Celtics 101-133
Dallas Mavericks – Orlando Magic 127-138
Sacramento Kings – New Orleans Pelicans 117-113
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. x-Detroit Pistons 56-21
2. x-Boston Celtics 52-25
3. x-New York Knicks 50-28
4. x-Cleveland Cavaliers 48-29
5. Atlanta Hawks 45-33
6. Toronto Raptors 43-34
7. Philadelphia 76ers 43-34
8. Charlotte Hornets 42-36
9. Orlando Magic 41-36
10. Miami Heat 40-37
11. o-Milwaukee Bucks 30-47
12. o-Chicago Bulls 29-48
13. o-Indiana Pacers 18-59
14. o-Brooklyn Nets 18-59
15. o-Washington Wizards 17-59
Western Conference
1. x-Oklahoma City Thunder 61-16
2. x-San Antonio Spurs 59-18
3. x-Los Angeles Lakers 50-27
4. x-Denver Nuggets 49-28
5. x-Houston Rockets 48-29
6. Minnesota Timberwolves 46-31
7. Phoenix Suns 42-35
8. y-Portland Trail Blazers 40-38
9. y-Los Angeles Clippers 39-38
10. y-Golden State Warriors 36-41
11. o-Memphis Grizzlies 25-52
12. o-New Orleans Pelicans 25-53
13. o-Dallas Mavericks 24-53
14. o-Sacramento Kings 21-57
15. o-Utah Jazz 21-57
-Top six teams from each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth from each conference enter the Play-Ins
x-clinched playoff berth
y-clinched play-in berth
o-eliminated