By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Another massive outing off the bench for Dennis Schroder with a game-high 24 points to go along with his nine assists, four boards and one steal. Starter Danilo Gallinari added 19 points, four dimes and four rebounds for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 120-100 victory against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center. Bogdan Bogdanovic poured a team-high 23 points, also tallied five boards, a couple of assists and one steal starting alongside fellow Serbian Nemanja Bjelica who failed to score and was held to five assists for the night.
Overtime win, 115-106, for the Indiana Pacers opposite to the Chicago Bulls at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Domantas Sabonis posted a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double alongside five dimes in Wednesday’s 2019-20 NBA Regular Season contest. Goga Bitadze contributed to the “W” with ten points and four boards off the bench, but Naz Mitrou-Long remained inactive. Tomas Satoransky finished with 11 points, four dimes, four rebounds and a pair of interceptions for the visitors, but Adam Mokoka did not leave the bench and Lauri Markkanen (right hip) stayed on the injury list.
The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz, 127-120, at the AT&T Center, with Marco Belinelli putting in ten points, a couple of boards and one assist off the bench. Jakob Poeltl had four points, eight rebounds, five dimes and one rejection as a starter. Luka Samanic was with the Austin Spurs though. As for the losing side, both Europeans remained part of the starting unit with Rudy Gobert posting a 17-point, 19-rebound double-double and Bojan Bogdanovic ending up with 17 points, nine boards and four dimes.
First career triple-double from Damian Lillard proved enough for the Portland Trail Blazers to prevail, 125-112, versus the Houston Rockets at the Moda Center. Mario Hezonja did not play, assigned Jaylen Hoard was inactive and Jusuf Nurkic (left leg) remained sidelined. On the other side, Clint Capela was held to two points, seven rebounds and one dime, and Thabo Sefolosha to one board, but Isaiah Hartenstein did not earn playing time and William Howard was inactive.
Jonas Valanciunas combined his 12-point, 13-rebound double-double with four assists and one interception helping the Memphis Grizzlies to the 127-106 victory over the New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden. Teammate Marko Guduric chipped in five points and a pair of boards in 13 minutes of work from the bench. Knicks’ Frank Ntilikina (groin) was left out and Ignas Brazdeikis assigned to the Westchester Knicks.
Five points, one board and one assist by Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for the Brooklyn Nets in the 125-115 victory versus the Detroit Pistons at the Barclays Center. Dzanan Musa did not get on the board and Rodions Kurucs did not play. Reserve Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk threw in three points, one rebound and one dime, and starter Sekou Doumbouya only offered one steal in losing effort.
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Milwaukee Bucks 41-6
2. Toronto Raptors 33-14
3. Miami Heat 32-15
4. Boston Celtics 31-15
5. Indiana Pacers 31-17
6. Philadelphia 76ers 31-17
7. Orlando Magic 21-27
8. Brooklyn Nets 20-26
9. Chicago Bulls 19-31
10. Detroit Pistons 17-32
11. Charlotte Hornets 15-31
12. Washington Wizards 15-31
13. Cleveland Cavaliers 13-35
14. New York Knicks 13-36
15. Atlanta Hawks 12-36
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers 36-10
2. Los Angeles Clippers 33-14
3. Denver Nuggets 32-15
4. Utah Jazz 32-15
5. Dallas Mavericks 29-18
6. Houston Rockets 29-18
7. Oklahoma City Thunder 29-20
8. Memphis Grizzlies 24-24
9. San Antonio Spurs 21-26
10. Portland Trail Blazers 21-27
11. Phoenix Suns 20-27
12. New Orleans Pelicans 19-29
13. Sacramento Kings 17-30
14. Minnesota Timberwolves 15-32
15. Golden State Warriors 10-38
Photo Credit: Getty Images