By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A couple of days off his career-high 34 points, Furkan Korkmaz racked up 31 more powering the Philadelphia 76ers to the 118-111 victory opposite to the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center. “I’m just trying to play my best basketball, and my strongest part of my game is shooting,” he mentioned after sinking six threes en route for 12/17 from the field, also piled up five rebounds, three interceptions and a pair of assists on Sunday night. The visitors had starter Tomas Satoransky at ten points, seven assists, four boards and one steal in 32 minutes of action. However, Adam Mokoka did not play and Lauri Markkanen (right hip) missed his eighth straight 2019-20 NBA Regular Season game.
Bojan Bogdanovic handed the Utah Jazz the 114-113 win over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center with a long buzzer-beater. “The play was designed for me to shoot a three. It’s big-time from their part to have that trust and confidence in me to make that shot after the game that I had,” he pointed out referring to his eight points with 2/5 threes, four dimes and two rebounds. Fellow starter Rudy Gobert chipped in with a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double to go along with one rejection and one interception. On the losing side, Thabo Sefolosha got in two points, three rebounds, one steal and one block in limited action, but Isaiah Hartenstein and William Howard did not play.
Jonas Valanciunas dominated the paint with 18 rebounds, additionally threw in eight points and a pair of rejections for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 106-99 win versus the Washington Wizards at the Capital One Arena. Marko Guduric did not play though. Coming off the bench for the hosts were Moritz Wagner with 19 points, nine boards and a couple of assists, and Davis Bertans with 15 points, six rebounds, one dime and one steal. Isaac Bonga had four points, a pair of boards, one assist and one steal, and Ian Mahinmi two points, five rebounds, a couple of blocks and one dime, both starting. Anzejs Pasecniks did not get on the court.
Daniel Theis returned to action with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, also dished out five assists for the Boston Celtics in the narrow 112-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Enes Kanter added four points, eight boards and one steal returning to his reserve role, but Vincent Poirier and Javonte Green did not leave the bench. Danilo Gallinari mixed in a game-high 24 points alongside five rebounds and one dime in losing effort, while Dennis Schroder went for 22 points, seven boards, one assist, one interception and one block off the bench.
Other action saw the Portland Trail Blazers defeat the Miami Heat, 115-109, at the Moda Center. Mario Hezonja missed both of shots and dished out one assist in five minutes with Jusuf Nurkic (left leg) out and Jaylen Hoard on assignment. Goran Dragic scored a team-high 27 points with 3/7 twos and 5/13 threes for the visitors, tallied seven dimes, four rebounds and one steal as well.
Starter Ivica Zubac summed up his night with eight points, four dimes, four rebounds, a pair of blocks and one steal in 17 minutes helping the Los Angeles Clippers move past the Cleveland Cavaliers, 133-92, at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cedi Osman started as well and finished with seven points, four boards, one assist and one interception in losing effort. Ante Zizic (illness) remained sidelined.
Without recently added Clint Capela (right heel), the Atlanta Hawks banked a double-overtime win, 140-135, against the New York Knicks at the State Farm Arena. Lone European action here came in the form of Frank Ntilikina with nine points, eight dimes, a pair of rebounds and a couple of interceptions to his name. Knicks’ teammate, Ignas Brazdeikis spent his night with the Westchester Knicks.
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Milwaukee Bucks 45-7
2. Toronto Raptors 39-14
3. Boston Celtics 37-15
4. Miami Heat 34-18
5. Philadelphia 76ers 33-21
6. Indiana Pacers 31-22
7. Brooklyn Nets 23-28
8. Orlando Magic 22-31
9. Washington Wizards 18-33
10. Chicago Bulls 19-35
11. Detroit Pistons 19-36
12. New York Knicks 17-37
13. Charlotte Hornets 16-36
14. Atlanta Hawks 15-39
15. Cleveland Cavaliers 13-40
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers 39-12
2. Denver Nuggets 37-16
3. Los Angeles Clippers 37-16
4. Utah Jazz 34-18
5. Houston Rockets 33-20
6. Oklahoma City Thunder 32-21
7. Dallas Mavericks 32-21
8. Memphis Grizzlies 27-26
9. Portland Trail Blazers 25-29
10. San Antonio Spurs 22-30
11. New Orleans Pelicans 22-31
12. Sacramento Kings 21-31
13. Phoenix Suns 21-32
14. Minnesota Timberwolves 16-35
15. Golden State Warriors 12-41
Photo Credit: Getty Images