By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite not being able to count on Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton, the Milwaukee Bucks opened the NBA restart with a 119-112 win over the Boston Celtics.
To no surprise, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with game-high 36 points as well as 15 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block.
Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez followed with 18 and 14 respectively. For Boston, Marcus Smart scored 23 and Jaylen Brown 22 points. Daniel Theis also put on a solid performance with 14 points and 12 boards.
The Bucks were off to a 20-6 start but Boston didn’t let go keeping the deficit at 64-58 at the halftime break. They kept going toe-to-toe as they got decided in the last 90 seconds.
It was a tie at 107 but Giannis went to the basket twice for ‘two and one’ which, coupled with Middleton’s triple, pushed Milwaukee over the hump.
Somewhat later, Dallas and Houston clashed in a long and highly effective duel which belonged to the latter with 153-149 on the scoreboard.
James Harden was the main reason Houston got away with a win, logging 49 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while Russell Westbrook followed with 31 and Danuel House with 20.
Kristaps Porzingis answered on the other side with 39 points and 16 boards while Luka Doncic put on a triple-double with 28 points, 13 boards and ten assists. Trey Burke scored 31.
It was a come-from-behind win for the Rockets who trailed by 13 (121-108) at the start of the fourth period. While Harden and Westbrook dominated the stats sheet and certainly played a big part in the comeback win, it was Ben McLemore’s two three-pointers at the start of the quarter which sparked the run while Robert Convington was the one to tie the game and force overtime.
Another strong Euro performance could be seen in the San Antonio Spurs 129-120 win over the Sacramento Kings, a Bogdan Bogdanovic host 6-11 from deep on his way to 24 points.
His teammate in De’Aaron Fox was on fire as well with game-high 39 points, however, it wasn’t enough to tip the scale. Demar DeRozan logged 27 points and ten assists while Derrick White added 26 and Rudy Gay 19 points.