Βy Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With 28 NBA teams playing last night, almost every one was in action and the Europeans stars of the best league of the world shined bright.
For the first time in his NBA career, 22-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance led to loud “M-V-P” chants from the crowd. The Greek Freak had a career-high 39 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks had no trouble beating the Washington Wizards 123-96. Bosnian Mirza Teletovic added 2 rebounds and for the losing side Polish center Marcin Gortat had 8 points and 6 rebounds, while Czech Tomas Satoransky added 2 points.
French Nicola Batum had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double of the season, and the Hornets beat the Bulls 103-91 for their third straight victory. Spaniard Nicola Mirotic had a double double (11 p. 11 r.) for the losing side.
Paul Millsap capped a 9-0 run in the final 1:43 with two free throws and the Hawks rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 109-108 as German point guard Dennis Schroder had 27 points and Swiss Thabo Sefolosha added 12 and two crucial free throws. For the losing side Italian Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and a season-high 11 rebounds and Serb Nikola Jokic added 8 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Russell Westbrook had his 14th triple-double of the season and his third straight 40-point game, scoring 45 points with 11 assists and 11 rebounds on Friday night to lead the Thunder to a 117-112 road win over the Boston Celtics. Turk Enes Kanter and Lithuanian rookie Domantas Sabonis scored 20 points for Oklahoma City, as Spaniard Alex Abrines and French Joffrey Lauvergne added 3 points each. For the hosts, Sweden’s Jonas Jerebko had 2 points and 6 rebounds.
Last but not least Dirk Nowitzki, returning to play in the first half after missing 14 consecutive games with a strained right Achilles’ tendon, added 17 points as the Mavs got a 90-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Here’s the rest of last night’s results and the euro-scorers.
Orlando – LA Lakers 109-90 (Ibaka 19 p. 11 r., Vucevic 11 p. 7 r. – Deng 11 p. 10 r., Mozgov 4 p. 7 r., Zubac 6 p.)
Cleveland – Brooklyn 119-99 (Bogdanovic 2 r.)
Detroit – Golden State 113-119 (Pachulia 7 p. 7 r.)
Memphis – Houston 115-109 (Gasol 16 p. 5 r.)
New Orleans – Miami 91-87 (Ajncia 5 p. 5 r., Dragic 23 p. 5 as.)
Minessota – Sacramento 105-109 (Rubio 13 p. 8 as., Bjelica 2 p. – Koufos 12 p. 5 r.)
Utah – Toronto 98-104 (Gobert 13 p. 14 r., Diaw 2 p. 4 r., Valanciunas 14 p. 7 r.)
Phoenix – Philadelphia 123-116 (Len 8 p. 6 r. – Rodriguez 21 p. 7 as., Ilyasova 14 p., Saric 8 p.)
Portland – San Antonio 90-110
Eastern Conference
1 Cleveland Cavaliers 22-6
2 Toronto Raptors 21-8
3 Boston Celtics 17-13
4 Charlotte Hornets 17-13
5 New York Knicks 16-13
6 Atlanta Hawks 15-15
7 Milwaukee Bucks 14-14
8 Indiana Pacers 15-16
Chicago Bulls 14-15
Washington Wizards 13-16
Detroit Pistons14-18
Orlando Magic 14-18
Miami Heat 10-21
Philadelphia 76ers 7-22
Brooklyn Nets 7-22
Western Conference
1 Golden State Warriors 27-4
2 San Antonio Spurs 24-6
3 LA Clippers 22-9
4 Houston Rockets 22-9
5 Memphis Grizzlies 20-12
6 Oklahoma City Thunder 18-12
7 Utah Jazz 18-13
8 Sacramento Kings 13-17
Portland Trail Blazers 13-19
Denver Nuggets 12-18
New Orleans Pelicans 11-21
Los Angeles Lakers 11-22
Minnesota Timberwolves 9-20
Dallas Mavericks 9-21
Phoenix Suns 9-21