By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The NBA Preseason 2026 concluded on Friday night, featuring a showdown between Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. At crypto.com Arena, the Serbian center guided the Denver Nuggets to a 121–106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, tallying 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals. The Slovenian superstar countered with 15 points, four assists, two rebounds, one block, and one steal, while his Georgian teammate, Sandro Mamukelashvili, threw in 15 more points.
At Kia Center, the Orlando Magic outpaced the Miami Heat in a 136–115 game, with Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo resting for the night. They prevailed despite losing German forward Franz Wagner in the third quarter to a sore right shoulder after he scored 11 points, with French Noah Penda also exiting early with right hamstring tightness. Jase Richardson also sustained an injury. “All those guys will be re-evaluated,” noted head coach Sean Sweeney during his postgame press conference.
Off the bench for the Magic, Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic and German Tristan da Silva stepped up with 13 and 12 points, respectively, offsetting scoreless outings from Georgian Goga Bitadze and Penda. For the visitors, Serbian Nikola Jovic put up 12 points, supported by Italian Simone Fontecchio at eight points, and Russian Vladislav Goldin at four points, while Swedish Pelle Larsson sat out with an illness.
French big Victor Wembanyama guided the San Antonio Spurs to a 126–97 victory against the Sacramento Kings at the Frost Bank Center with 14 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and two assists. For the Kings, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis returned with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double as a starter. Israeli Emanuel Sharp had three points, whereas Alex Karaban, of Ukrainian and Belarusian heritage, went scoreless. Russian Viktor Lakhin did not play, and French Maxime Raynaud remained sidelined.
Gonzalez, Steinbach in high-scoring mode
Over at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Boston Celtics survived overtime to edge the Philadelphia 76ers 125–120. Spanish Hugo Gonzalez put up a team-high 21 points. Milos Uzan, who is of Serbian descent, started and logged 14 points, while Bosnian Luka Garza provided a spark off the bench with 13 points. British forward Amari Williams scored four points, while Portuguese center Neemias Queta was inactive. The Sixers played without Turkish Adem Bona and German Ariel Hukporti, and French Rayan Rupert went scoreless.
Action also spilled into overtime at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Milwaukee Bucks narrowly defeated the Indiana Pacers 128–127. On the wrong end, Croatian starter Ivica Zubac produced an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Bucks found offensive support from Serbian Bogoljub Markovic at seven points, French forward Ousmane Dieng at four points, and Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis at three points, but Italian Nate Ament sat out with a left ankle sprain.
Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies took down the Charlotte Hornets 116–98 at the FedExForum. German reserve Hannes Steinbach registered a double-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals for the Hornets. Their heavy German contingent stretched to Christian Anderson Jr. pouring in 15 points, and Dennis Schroder ending up at six points as the starting point guard. French Tidjane Salaun added nine points, but fellow French import Moussa Diabate missed the game with a right elbow injury. The victorious Grizzlies, coached by Finnish Tuomas Iisalo, received an 11-point boost from Dutch Quinten Post.
The Atlanta Hawks cruised to a 135–111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. French Zaccharie Risacher paced the Mavs against his former team, registering 18 points. Spanish Sergio de Larrea added eight points off the bench, Greek John Poulakidas made two points, and British Tobi Lawal went scoreless. Spanish Santi Aldama stayed on the injury list, joined by Turkish Tarik Biberovic, who is dealing with right heel bursitis. The Hawks missed their lone European option as Estonian Henri Veesaar is out.
Markkanen, Avdija, Buzelis, Sarr
Behind a late rally and after trailing by 13 points, the Utah Jazz outmaneuvered the Phoenix Suns 119–116 at the Mortgage Matchup Center. Finnish starter Lauri Markkanen did the heavy lifting with a game-high 19 points, including three triples. Ukrainian reserve Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added three points, while Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic watched from the injury list.
At Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors topped the Portland Trail Blazers 128–118. Israeli Deni Avdija produced 12 points, and Belgian Toumani Camara added 11 points as starters on the losing side. Off the bench, Czech Vit Krejci and Polish Jeremy Sochan contributed seven and six points, respectively, and French Sidy Cissoko added two. On the winning side, Dutch Malevy Leons reached two points, but Latvian Kristaps Porzingis remained sidelined.
The Chicago Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 133–116 at United Center. Lithuanian starter Matas Buzelis set the tone with a 14-point performance, complemented by five points from French reserve Noa Essengue. The Wolves rested French Rudy Gobert and kept Italian Donte DiVincenzo sidelined, though French prospect Joan Beringer started and put up 11 points.
At the Smoothie King Center, the New Orleans Pelicans moved past the Washington Wizards in a 107–106 nail-biter. French starter Alex Sarr tallied 12 points and nine rebounds, while French reserve Bilal Coulibaly got three points and Serbian Tristan Vukcevic remained sidelined. For the Pels, Croatian Karlo Matkovic had six points.
Finally, the Detroit Pistons secured a tight 129–125 win over the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena. The visitors, coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic, opted to rest several key players, including Austrian Jakob Poeltl, as teams now shift their focus entirely to the 2026–27 Regular Season.
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