By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Friday was the 2020-21 pre-season premiere after a short rest following the end of the 2019-20 season in October. Some teams returned to their duties in full form, while others seemed to struggle.
Nikola Vucevic enjoyed a double-double on the pre-season premiere in Orlando Magic’s 116-112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks with 18 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with 4 assists. Evan Fournier added up to Vucevic’s efforts with 13 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 9 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 23 minutes in his first game with the Hawks, while Danilo Gallinari and Clint Capela posted 14 and 9 points each for Atlanta.
The New York Knicks also tipped off the pre-season on a good note with a 90-84 win against Detroit Pistons. RJ Barrett was the leading scorer for the winners with 15 points and Frank Ntilikina tapped 7 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes.
On the other end of the court, Svi Mykhailiuk led Pistons with 14 points and 3 steals.
Houston Rockets took Chicago Bulls by storm with a 125-104 win, with Bruno Caboclo leading the way with 17 points, 7 assists. Eric Gordon and Gerald Green had 16 points each and four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins dropped 14.
Coby White stepped up for the Bulls with 15 points and big man Lauri Markkanen added 13 points, 5 rebounds and two steals.
Defending champions Los Angeles Lakers had the shortest rest period out of all teams that started their pre-season short-staffed on Friday but managed to defeat the LA Clippers 87-81.
Talen Horton-Tucker was in the spotlight with 19 points, 9 boards and 4 assists, Kyle Kuzma had 18 points and Dennis Schroder tapped 10 points and 4 rebounds. Kostas Antetokounmpo came off the bench to contribute 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 point in 24 minutes.
On the contrary, Tyronn Lue used his rotation to the fullest, with Paul George tapping 10 points. Serge Ibaka and Ivica Zubac dropped 6 and 4 points respectively and Nicolas Batum had 2 points.
Carmelo Anthony shared the court with Portland’s young core and led the way with 21 points coming from the bench. Harry Giles III and Gary Trent Jr. had 18 points each, while newcomer Enes Kanter added 4 points, 11 boards and 3 assists. Buddy Hield paced Kings with 23 points and Harrison Barnes had 16. Nemanja Bjelica left the court with 2 points, 2 assists and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes.