By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Antetokounmpo scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half to help Milwaukee rally for a 104-93 win over the New York Knicks.
The Bucks extended their winning streak to four games with the victory, moving to within a half-game of Chicago and Detroit for the seventh and eighth playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. “It is just the competitive nature out of me,” Antetokounmpo said. “When they go on a run and are up 10 or up 12, I get really competitive. I feel I have to go right now. I don’t even think about it. It just comes naturally.”
The Greek freak also added 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Bosnian Mirza Teletovic added 3 points, while for the Knicks Latvian Kristaps Porzingis had 13 points and 8 rebounds and Spaniard Willy Hernangomez added a double double (13 p. 12 r.).
Also Slovenian Goran Dragic scored 22 points and handed out 10 assists for Miami, which moved within a half-game of No. 7 Detroit and No. 8 Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings by beating the Charlotte Hornets 108-101. French Nicolas Batum had 16 points and 7 rebounds and Italian Marco Belinelli 8 points for the losing side.
Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas turned in one of his best performances this season, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, and the Raptors emerged with a 94-87 victory Wednesday night over a New Orleans. Spaniard Serge Ibaka added 12 points for the winners and Austrian Jakob Poeltl had 2. For the losing side Lithuanian Donatas Motiejunas had 5 rebounds and French Alexis Ajinca scored 9 points.
French Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward each scored 23 points to help the Jazz beat the Rockets 115-108. Boris Diaw added 4 points and 4 rebounds for the winners, while Swiss Clint Capela had a double double (19 p. 12 r.) for the losing side.
German Dennis Schroder scored 31 points and the Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 110-105 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Swiss Thabo Sefolosha added 9 points and 8 rebounds, while Turk Ersan Ilyasova had 10 points off the bench for the winners and Spaniard Jose Manuel Calderon made his debut. Here’s the rest of last night’s games and the euro-scorers.
Orlando – Chicago 98-91 (Fournier 20 p., Hezonja 2 p. – Zipser 3 p., Lauvergne 7 p., 8 r.)
Minessota – LA Clippers 107-91 (Rubio 15 p. 12 as., Bjelica 5 r.)
Indiana – Detroit 115-98 (Seraphin 2 p. – Marjanovic 6 p. 5 r.)
San Antonio – Sacramento 114-104 (Parker 2 p. 3 as., Bertans 8 p., Gasol 7 p. – Koufos 12 p. 10 r.)
Golden State – Boston 86-99 (Pachulia 2 p. 6 r. – Jerebko 5 p.)
Denver – Washington 113-123 (Hernangomez 7p. 9 r. – Gortat 11 p. 15 r., Mahinmi 7 p., Satoransky 3 p., Bogdanovic 10 p.)
Eastern Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 20 | .677 | – | 26-7 | 16-13 | 6-6 | 28-10 | 110.8 | 106.5 | +4.3 | L2 | 6-4 |
| 2Boston Celtics | 41 | 24 | .631 | 2.5 | 21-9 | 20-15 | 8-4 | 26-12 | 107.8 | 105.3 | +2.4 | W1 | 5-5 |
| 3Washington Wizards | 39 | 24 | .619 | 3.5 | 26-9 | 13-15 | 6-5 | 25-16 | 108.6 | 106.1 | +2.5 | W3 | 7-3 |
| 4Toronto Raptors | 38 | 26 | .594 | 5 | 21-11 | 17-15 | 12-2 | 23-14 | 107.7 | 103.8 | +3.9 | W1 | 6-4 |
| 5Atlanta Hawks | 35 | 29 | .547 | 8 | 18-15 | 17-14 | 5-8 | 24-15 | 103.9 | 104.7 | -0.8 | W1 | 4-6 |
| 6Indiana Pacers | 33 | 31 | .516 | 10 | 22-10 | 11-21 | 7-6 | 18-20 | 105.1 | 105.8 | -0.7 | W1 | 4-6 |
| 7Detroit Pistons | 31 | 33 | .484 | 12 | 20-12 | 11-21 | 4-8 | 18-20 | 102.1 | 102.3 | -0.2 | L1 | 6-4 |
| 8Chicago Bulls | 31 | 33 | .484 | 12 | 19-13 | 12-20 | 6-7 | 20-18 | 102.3 | 103.1 | -0.9 | L3 | 5-5 |
| Miami Heat | 31 | 34 | .477 | 12.5 | 17-14 | 14-20 | 6-7 | 20-20 | 102.3 | 101.9 | +0.5 | W3 | 7-3 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 30 | 33 | .476 | 12.5 | 18-16 | 12-17 | 8-4 | 20-22 | 105.2 | 104.8 | +0.5 | W4 | 7-3 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 28 | 36 | .438 | 15 | 17-13 | 11-23 | 6-3 | 17-21 | 104.7 | 104.4 | +0.3 | L1 | 4-6 |
| New York Knicks | 26 | 39 | .400 | 17.5 | 15-17 | 11-22 | 4-7 | 17-23 | 105.6 | 108.6 | -3.0 | L1 | 4-6 |
| Orlando Magic | 24 | 41 | .369 | 19.5 | 12-21 | 12-20 | 7-7 | 16-23 | 99.9 | 105.7 | -5.8 | W1 | 4-6 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 23 | 40 | .365 | 19.5 | 15-19 | 8-21 | 5-6 | 16-23 | 101.7 | 107.9 | -6.1 | L2 | 4-6 |
| e –Brooklyn Nets | 11 | 52 | .175 | 31.5 | 7-24 | 4-28 | 0-10 | 3-34 | 105.7 | 114.3 | -8.6 | L1 | 2-8 |
Western Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x –Golden State Warriors | 52 | 12 | .813 | – | 26-4 | 26-8 | 11-2 | 31-7 | 117.0 | 105.3 | +11.7 | L1 | 6-4 |
| 2x –San Antonio Spurs | 50 | 13 | .794 | 1.5 | 23-6 | 27-7 | 8-4 | 28-8 | 106.7 | 98.5 | +8.3 | W9 | 9-1 |
| 3Houston Rockets | 44 | 21 | .677 | 8.5 | 23-9 | 21-12 | 9-5 | 27-11 | 115.1 | 108.4 | +6.6 | L2 | 6-4 |
| 4Utah Jazz | 41 | 24 | .631 | 11.5 | 22-12 | 19-12 | 6-6 | 24-17 | 100.5 | 96.2 | +4.3 | W4 | 7-3 |
| 5LA Clippers | 38 | 26 | .594 | 14 | 20-10 | 18-16 | 6-5 | 22-17 | 107.7 | 104.9 | +2.8 | L1 | 5-5 |
| 6Memphis Grizzlies | 36 | 28 | .563 | 16 | 19-12 | 17-16 | 6-4 | 26-15 | 101.4 | 100.5 | +0.9 | L3 | 4-6 |
| 7Oklahoma City Thunder | 35 | 29 | .547 | 17 | 23-9 | 12-20 | 7-5 | 22-18 | 106.3 | 106.5 | -0.2 | L4 | 4-6 |
| 8Denver Nuggets | 29 | 35 | .453 | 23 | 17-16 | 12-19 | 5-8 | 17-22 | 110.6 | 111.4 | -0.7 | L1 | 5-5 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 35 | .435 | 24 | 16-13 | 11-22 | 7-3 | 18-20 | 108.2 | 110.4 | -2.2 | W3 | 5-5 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 27 | 36 | .429 | 24.5 | 19-14 | 8-22 | 4-8 | 17-23 | 98.3 | 99.8 | -1.5 | W3 | 6-4 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 26 | 37 | .413 | 25.5 | 16-18 | 10-19 | 4-7 | 15-23 | 104.9 | 104.9 | 0.0 | W1 | 6-4 |
| Sacramento Kings | 25 | 39 | .391 | 27 | 13-19 | 12-20 | 4-6 | 15-22 | 102.6 | 105.7 | -3.1 | L6 | 3-7 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 25 | 40 | .385 | 27.5 | 15-18 | 10-22 | 3-9 | 12-26 | 102.6 | 105.8 | -3.3 | L2 | 4-6 |
| Phoenix Suns | 21 | 43 | .328 | 31 | 13-19 | 8-24 | 3-8 | 8-33 | 107.8 | 112.8 | -5.0 | L1 | 4-6 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 19 | 45 | .297 | 33 | 12-18 | 7-27 | 4-7 | 9-29 | 104.0 | 111.0 | -7.0 | L8 | 1-9 |