By George Efkarpides / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic could not be stopped against the Thunder. The Serbian star imposed his will from start to finish and came up with game-winning plays in the end.
First, the “Joker” hit two clutch free throws to give his team a three-point lead with 6 seconds to go. After the Thunder tied the game, Denver had one last chance to win and Jokic dished out one of the best assists of his career to Garry Harris for the win.
Jokic finished the game with a triple-double, 29 points, 13 boards, 14 assists adding a steal and two blocks as the all-star snub certainly didn’t sit well with him. Spaniard Alex Abrines had 13 points for the losing side.
The Houston Rockets took care of the Spurs in San Antonio behind a strong double-double from Clint Capela. The Swiss big-man had 14 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, a steal and 5 blocks in a 102-91 win. Spanish icon Pau Gasol only took one shot and finished with 6 points, 7 boards, an assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
The Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo also had a double-double with 17 points – 15 boards, adding 5 assists in an 89-108 loss in Minnesota. Serb Nemanja Bjelica scored 8 points for the winning side.
Here are last night’s results and the euro-scorers
| DETROIT PISTONS | MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES | 104-102 | Gasol 19 p. 14 r. 2 a. |
| WASHINGTON WIZARDS | TORONTO RAPTORS | 122-119 | Gortat 10 p. 7 r. 3 a., Satoransky 10 p. 3 r. 4 a. 2 s., Mahinmi 10 p. 4 r. 2 a. 1 s. 1 b. – Valanciunas 17 p. 7 r. 3 a., Ibaka 16 p. 3 r. 1 a., Poeltl 8 p. 5 r. 1 a. 1 s. |
| MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES | MILWAUKEE BUCKS | 108-89 | Bjelica 8 p. 4 r. 2 a. 1 s. 1 b. – Antetokounmpo 17 p. 15 r. 6 a. |
| SAN ANTONIO SPURS | HOUSTON ROCKETS | 91-102 | Gasol 6 p. 7 r. 1 a. 2 s. 2 b., Parker 4 p. 1 r. 1 a., Bertans 3 p. 2 r. 1 a. 1 b. – Capela 14 p. 13 r. 2 a. 1 s. 5 b. |
| DENVER NUGGETS | OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER | 127-124 | Jokic 29 p. 13 r. 14 a. 1 s. 2 b. – Abrines 13 p. 2 r. 1 a. 2 b. |
|
#
|
TEAM
|
PTS
|
MP
|
W
|
L
|
POINTS
|
+/-
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EASTERN | ||||||||
|
1
|
BOSTON CELTICS
|
52
|
37
|
15
|
5359 – 5110
|
249
|
||
|
2
|
TORONTO RAPTORS
|
50
|
34
|
16
|
5561 – 5209
|
352
|
||
|
3
|
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
|
50
|
30
|
20
|
5480 – 5467
|
13
|
||
|
4
|
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
|
51
|
29
|
22
|
5472 – 5387
|
85
|
||
|
5
|
MIAMI HEAT
|
51
|
29
|
22
|
5111 – 5144
|
-33
|
||
|
6
|
INDIANA PACERS
|
52
|
29
|
23
|
5539 – 5474
|
65
|
||
|
7
|
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
|
50
|
27
|
23
|
5242 – 5270
|
-28
|
||
|
8
|
PHILADELPHIA 76ers
|
48
|
24
|
24
|
5178 – 5130
|
48
|
||
|
9
|
DETROIT PISTONS
|
50
|
24
|
26
|
5139 – 5153
|
-14
|
||
|
10
|
NEW YORK KNICKS
|
52
|
23
|
29
|
5435 – 5506
|
-71
|
||
|
11
|
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
|
50
|
21
|
29
|
5287 – 5281
|
6
|
||
|
12
|
BROOKLYN NETS
|
52
|
19
|
33
|
5473 – 5659
|
-186
|
||
|
13
|
CHICAGO BULLS
|
51
|
18
|
33
|
5282 – 5572
|
-290
|
||
|
14
|
ORLANDO MAGIC
|
50
|
15
|
35
|
5284 – 5516
|
-232
|
||
|
15
|
ATLANTA HAWKS
|
51
|
15
|
36
|
5286 – 5524
|
-238
|
||
| WESTERN | ||||||||
|
1
|
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
|
51
|
40
|
11
|
5898 – 5491
|
407
|
||
|
2
|
HOUSTON ROCKETS
|
50
|
37
|
13
|
5692 – 5305
|
387
|
||
|
3
|
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
|
54
|
34
|
20
|
5440 – 5270
|
170
|
||
|
4
|
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
|
55
|
33
|
22
|
5987 – 5811
|
176
|
||
|
5
|
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
|
52
|
30
|
22
|
5536 – 5329
|
207
|
||
|
6
|
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
|
51
|
29
|
22
|
5352 – 5256
|
96
|
||
|
7
|
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
|
50
|
27
|
23
|
5538 – 5537
|
1
|
||
|
8
|
DENVER NUGGETS
|
52
|
27
|
25
|
5542 – 5509
|
33
|
||
|
9
|
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
|
50
|
25
|
25
|
5380 – 5364
|
16
|
||
|
10
|
UTAH JAZZ
|
50
|
22
|
28
|
5099 – 5106
|
-7
|
||
|
11
|
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
|
50
|
19
|
31
|
5335 – 5517
|
-182
|
||
|
12
|
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
|
51
|
18
|
33
|
5092 – 5230
|
-138
|
||
|
13
|
PHOENIX SUNS
|
52
|
18
|
34
|
5455 – 5813
|
-358
|
||
|
14
|
SACRAMENTO KINGS
|
50
|
16
|
34
|
4908 – 5323
|
-415
|
||
|
15
|
DALLAS MAVERICKS
|
52
|
16
|
36
|
5274 – 5393
|
-119
|
||