By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Vucevic overcame a rocky start for a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double, but wasn’t enough for the Orlando Magic in their 98-93 home loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Canadian organization took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series of 2019 NBA Playoffs opening round with Marc Gasol scoring nine points and Serge Ibaka adding six.
The Oklahoma City Thunder cut the Portland Trail Blazers’ lead to 2-1 with the 120-108 home victory on Friday. Offensively it was mainly Russell Westbrook versus Damian Lillard, but Dennis Schroder helped the hosts with 17 points. Enes Kanter finished with 19 for the Blazers.
The Boston Celtics went up 3-0 against the Indiana Pacers with the 104-96 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. European contribution was limited to Daniel Theis’ one rebound. Bojan Bogdanovic ended up with 15 points and Domantas Sabonis with 12 for the losing side.
Results and European action:
| Orlando Magic – Toronto Raptors | 93-98 | Vucevic 22pts, 14reb, 6ast, 1ast, 3blk, Fournier 7pts, 2reb, 1ast, 2stl, Mozgov OUT – M. Gasol 9pts, 3reb, 1ast, 4stl, Ibaka 6pts, 8reb, 2ast, 1blk, Anunoby OUT |
| Indiana Pacers – Boston Celtics | 96-104 | Boj. Bogdanovic 15pts, 5reb, 4ast, 2stl, Sabonis 12pts, 7reb, 6ast, 1stl, 1blk – Theis 1reb, Yabusele DNP |
| Oklahoma City Thunder – Portland Trail Blazers | 120-108 | Schroder 17pts, 5reb, 6ast, 2stl – Kanter 19pts, 5reb, 1ast, Nurkic OUT |
Photo Credit: Getty Images