By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
LeBron James buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 24 seconds left in overtime and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 114-108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee took a 108-107 lead on a tip-in by Giannis Antetokounmpo with 1:12 left. Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving missed a 3-pointer from the left corner on the next possession, but Jabari Parker’s lay-in attempt at the other end curled out. The Greek Freak finished the game with 25 points, 13 rebounds,2 steals, 2 assists and 3 blocks. Bosnian Mirza Teletovic added 9 points for the losing side.
The Hornets rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat the Lakers 117-113. Kemba Walker had 28 points and 10 assists and also contributed a key offensive rebound with 27.9 seconds left to set up a tiebreaking jumper by Nicola Batum with 13 seconds remaining. The French star had 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added 10 assists, while Italian Marco Belinelli finished with 13 points. For the losing side British Luol Deng had 11 points, Russian center Timofey Mozgov 6 rebounds and Croatian rookie Ivica Zubac got one rebound.
Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic had 26 points and 12 rebounds, French Evan Fournier scored 26 and hit the 3-pointer with 1:26 left that put Orlando up for good, and the Magic topped the Heat 136-130 in double overtime. Spaniard Serge Ibaka had 20 points, 10 rebounds and one big hook shot. Slovenian Goran Dragic had 19 points fot the losing side.
In Boston, behind 44 points by Isaiah Thomas the Celtics beat Memphis 112-109 despite 24 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists by Spanish star Marc Gasol. Last but not least, DeMarcus Cousins returned from a brief and wrong ejection in the fourth quarter and finished with a season-high 55 points, sending the Sacramento Kings past the Portland Trail Blazers 126-121. Greek-American Kostas Koufos added 2 points for the winners. Here’s the rest of last night’s games and the euro-scorers.
Houston – San Antonio 100-102 (Gasol 10 p. 10 r., Parker 8 p.)
Golden State – Utah 104-74 (Pachulia 2 p. – Gobert 11 p. 16 r., Diaw 2 p., Bolomboy 1p.)
LA Clippers – Denver 119-102 (Gallinari 17 p., Jokic 9 p. 6 r., Hernangomez 6 p.)
New York – Indiana 118-111 (Porzingis 21 p., 8 r., Noah 11 p. 11 r.)
Philadelphia – New Orleans 93-108 (Rodriguez 9 p., Saric 2 p., Ilyasova 14 p., – Asik 2 p., Ajinca 2 r.)
Toronto – Brooklyn 116-104 (Valanciunas 10 p. 14 r., Poeltl 2 r. – Bogdanovic 5 p.)
Eastern Conference
1 Cleveland Cavaliers 20-6
2 Toronto Raptors 20-8
3 Boston Celtics 16-12
4 Charlotte Hornets 16-13
5 New York Knicks 15-13
6 Chicago Bulls 14-13
7 Indiana Pacers 15-15
8 Atlanta Hawks 14-14
Milwaukee Bucks 13-13
Detroit Pistons 14-16
Washington Wizards 12-15
Orlando Magic 13-17
Miami Heat 9-20
Brooklyn Nets 7-20
Philadelphia 76ers 7-21
Western Conference
1 Golden State Warriors 25-4
2 San Antonio Spurs 23-5
3 LA Clippers 21-8
4 Houston Rockets 21-8
5 Utah Jazz 18-11
6 Memphis Grizzlies 18-12
7 Oklahoma City Thunder 16-12
8 Portland Trail Blazers 13-17
Denver Nuggets 12-17
Sacramento Kings 11-17
Los Angeles Lakers 11-20
New Orleans Pelicans 10-20
Minnesota Timberwolves 8-19
Phoenix Suns 8-20
Dallas Mavericks 7-21