Jokic won the duel with Porzingis, Giannis’ 41 points not enough

By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net

Rising star Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 40 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 131-123 victory over New York.

Jokic scored 18 points in the Nuggets’ 36-point third quarter after they trailed at halftime by two. He was 7 of 9 in the period. “In that third quarter, they just, `Throw him the ball inside.’ I’m like, `Oh, they trust me,” Jokic said. “I feel good. When you know that your teammates trust you, it’s real easy to play.” Latvian Kristaps Porzingis scored 17 points for the Knicks, but Jokic dominated the matchup of second-year big men from Europe.

Fans chanted Charles Oakley’s name early in the game and booed the Knicks by the end after seeing none of the defensive intensity that was a hallmark of his beloved teams of the 1990s. Oakley is banned from Madison Square Garden after the incident he had with security. Denver played without Italian Danilo Gallinari (strained left groin), Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic added 2 points, while in the duel of the Spanish brothers Hernagomez Juancho (Denver) scored 8 points and Willy (Knicks) had 12.

Nick Young scored 26 points and the Lakers overcame a career-high 41 points by Giannis Antetokounmpo and concluded a five-game road trip with a 122-114 road win over the Bucks in their first game without injured Jabari Parker. Croatian rookie Ivica Zubac had 15 points for the winners, Brit Luol Deng added 3 rebounds, while for the Bucks Mirza Teletovic added 3 points.

Here’s the rest of last night’s results and the euro-scorers.

Brooklyn – Miami 99-108 (Bogdanovic 10 p. – Dragic 21 p. 5 r.)
Detroit – San Antonio 92-103 (Parker 2 p., Bertans 5 p.)
Memphis – Golden State 107-122 (Gasol 17 p. 6 r. 7 as.)
Minessota – New Orleans 106-122 (Rubio 15 p., 12 as., Bjelica 3 r. – Motiejunas 2 p., Asik 1 r.)
Washington – Indiana 112-107 (Gortat 14 p. 16 r., Satoransky 4 p. – Seraphin 16 p. 7 r.)
Sacramento – Atlanta 108-107 (Koufos 2 p. 4 r. – Schroder 20 p. 6 as.)
Phoenix – Chicago 115-97 (Mirotic 5 p.)

Eastern Conference

W

L

1Cleveland Cavaliers

36

16

2Boston Celtics

34

19

3Washington Wizards

32

21

4Toronto Raptors

32

22

5Atlanta Hawks

31

23

6Indiana Pacers

29

24

7Chicago Bulls

26

28

8Detroit Pistons

25

29

Charlotte Hornets

24

29

Miami Heat

24

30

Milwaukee Bucks

22

30

New York Knicks

22

33

Orlando Magic

20

35

Philadelphia 76ers

19

34

Brooklyn Nets

9

45

Western Conference

W

L

1Golden State Warriors

45

8

2San Antonio Spurs

41

12

3Houston Rockets

39

17

4Utah Jazz

34

20

5LA Clippers

32

21

6Memphis Grizzlies

33

23

7Oklahoma City Thunder

31

23

8Denver Nuggets

24

29

Portland Trail Blazers

23

31

Sacramento Kings

22

32

Dallas Mavericks

21

32

New Orleans Pelicans

21

33

Minnesota Timberwolves

20

34

Los Angeles Lakers

19

37

Phoenix Suns

17

37

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