By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Spaniard Nikola Mirotic tied season highs with 28 points and six 3-pointers, Jimmy Butler scored 25, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cavaliers 99-93 on a night when James moved into seventh place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
That couldn’t prevent the Cavaliers from matching a season high with their third straight loss which dropped the defending champions a half-game behind Boston for the Eastern Conference lead and left them with a 6-10 record in March. German Paul Zipser added 4 points for the winners and Frenchman Joffrey Lauvergne had 2 points and 2 rebounds.
Spaniard Ricky Rubio had a career-high 33 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points to lead the Timberwolves to a 119-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Israeli Omri Casspi added 4 points for the winners and Croatian rookie Ivica Zubac had 2 points for the Lakers.
Damian Lillard had 31 points and 11 assists, leading the Trail Blazers past the Rockets 117-107. Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic had a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with 19 points for the Trail Blazers, who have a season-high five-game winning streak and a 1 1/2-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Swiss Clint Capela had 8 points and 7 rebounds for the losing side, which registered a new three-pointers record for a season. Here’s the rest of last night’s results and the euro-scorers.
Phoenix – LA Clippers 118-124 (Len 12 p. 3 r.)
Detroit – Brooklyn 90-89 (Udrih 6 p. 5 as.)
Eastern Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x –Boston Celtics | 48 | 27 | .640 | – | 27-10 | 21-17 | 9-5 | 31-14 | 107.7 | 105.1 | +2.6 | L1 | 7-3 |
| 2y –Cleveland Cavaliers | 47 | 27 | .635 | 0.5 | 28-8 | 19-19 | 7-8 | 31-13 | 109.8 | 106.7 | +3.1 | L3 | 4-6 |
| 3y –Washington Wizards | 46 | 29 | .613 | 2 | 29-10 | 17-19 | 7-6 | 29-18 | 109.5 | 107.2 | +2.3 | L1 | 5-5 |
| 4x –Toronto Raptors | 45 | 30 | .600 | 3 | 25-13 | 20-17 | 12-2 | 28-17 | 107.2 | 103.0 | +4.1 | L1 | 7-3 |
| 5Atlanta Hawks | 39 | 36 | .520 | 9 | 20-18 | 19-18 | 5-10 | 26-19 | 102.9 | 104.1 | -1.2 | W2 | 3-7 |
| 6Milwaukee Bucks | 39 | 36 | .520 | 9 | 21-17 | 18-19 | 9-5 | 24-23 | 104.6 | 104.1 | +0.4 | W2 | 7-3 |
| 7Miami Heat | 37 | 38 | .493 | 11 | 21-16 | 16-22 | 6-7 | 23-23 | 102.8 | 101.8 | +0.9 | W2 | 6-4 |
| 8Indiana Pacers | 37 | 38 | .493 | 11 | 26-12 | 11-26 | 7-7 | 21-24 | 104.3 | 105.4 | -1.0 | L2 | 4-6 |
| Chicago Bulls | 36 | 39 | .480 | 12 | 22-16 | 14-23 | 9-7 | 24-22 | 102.4 | 103.2 | -0.8 | W2 | 5-5 |
| Detroit Pistons | 35 | 41 | .461 | 13.5 | 24-15 | 11-26 | 5-10 | 21-27 | 101.0 | 102.3 | -1.3 | W1 | 2-8 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 34 | 41 | .453 | 14 | 21-17 | 13-24 | 10-3 | 22-25 | 105.2 | 104.4 | +0.8 | W1 | 5-5 |
| e –Philadelphia 76ers | 28 | 47 | .373 | 20 | 17-20 | 11-27 | 7-6 | 19-26 | 102.3 | 107.5 | -5.2 | L1 | 5-5 |
| e –New York Knicks | 28 | 47 | .373 | 20 | 17-19 | 11-28 | 4-9 | 19-27 | 104.8 | 108.4 | -3.6 | L1 | 2-8 |
| e –Orlando Magic | 27 | 48 | .360 | 21 | 14-24 | 13-24 | 7-9 | 18-27 | 100.6 | 106.7 | -6.1 | L2 | 3-7 |
| e –Brooklyn Nets | 16 | 59 | .213 | 32 | 10-28 | 6-31 | 2-12 | 7-38 | 105.7 | 112.9 | -7.2 | L2 | 4-6 |
Western Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1y –Golden State Warriors | 61 | 14 | .813 | – | 31-4 | 30-10 | 12-2 | 37-9 | 115.8 | 104.2 | +11.6 | W9 | 9-1 |
| 2x –San Antonio Spurs | 57 | 17 | .770 | 3.5 | 29-8 | 28-9 | 9-5 | 32-12 | 106.1 | 98.3 | +7.9 | L1 | 7-3 |
| 3x –Houston Rockets | 51 | 24 | .680 | 10 | 28-10 | 23-14 | 10-6 | 32-14 | 115.5 | 109.0 | +6.5 | L2 | 7-3 |
| 4x –Utah Jazz | 46 | 29 | .613 | 15 | 25-12 | 21-17 | 6-7 | 27-19 | 100.6 | 96.5 | +4.0 | W2 | 5-5 |
| 5x –LA Clippers | 46 | 31 | .597 | 16 | 25-12 | 21-19 | 8-6 | 26-21 | 108.4 | 104.9 | +3.5 | W2 | 6-4 |
| 6x –Oklahoma City Thunder | 43 | 31 | .581 | 17.5 | 27-10 | 16-21 | 8-5 | 26-20 | 107.1 | 106.1 | +0.9 | W2 | 8-2 |
| 7Memphis Grizzlies | 41 | 34 | .547 | 20 | 22-14 | 19-20 | 7-6 | 27-20 | 100.9 | 100.2 | +0.7 | W1 | 5-5 |
| 8Portland Trail Blazers | 37 | 38 | .493 | 24 | 21-15 | 16-23 | 9-3 | 24-21 | 108.3 | 109.0 | -0.7 | W5 | 8-2 |
| Denver Nuggets | 35 | 39 | .473 | 25.5 | 21-18 | 14-21 | 5-9 | 20-26 | 111.4 | 111.3 | +0.1 | L2 | 6-4 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 32 | 43 | .427 | 29 | 20-18 | 12-25 | 6-10 | 18-28 | 103.9 | 105.8 | -1.9 | W1 | 7-3 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 31 | 43 | .419 | 29.5 | 21-18 | 10-25 | 4-9 | 18-27 | 98.0 | 100.4 | -2.4 | L3 | 3-7 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 30 | 44 | .405 | 30.5 | 19-19 | 11-25 | 4-8 | 17-27 | 105.2 | 105.9 | -0.7 | W2 | 3-7 |
| e –Sacramento Kings | 29 | 46 | .387 | 32 | 15-23 | 14-23 | 6-7 | 18-27 | 102.3 | 106.3 | -4.0 | L1 | 4-6 |
| e –Phoenix Suns | 22 | 54 | .289 | 39.5 | 13-24 | 9-30 | 3-11 | 9-37 | 107.1 | 112.9 | -5.8 | L10 | 0-10 |
| e –Los Angeles Lakers | 21 | 54 | .280 | 40 | 13-24 | 8-30 | 5-8 | 11-34 | 104.7 | 112.2 | -7.6 | L3 | 1-9 |