By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
A few days after signing his new contract with the Jazz, Rudy Gobert posted a dominant double-double performance to start the season on a great note with 20 points and 17 rebounds, leading his team to a 120-100 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Gobert controlled the inside and got plenty of support from the outside as the Jazz shot 19 of 50 from the three-point line.
Donovan Mitchell had 20 points as well, and Bojan Bogdanovic posted 15 points and 6 rebounds.
CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 23 points, Enes Kanter dropped 14 points coming from the bench and Jusuf Nurkic had 13 points.
Luka Doncic posted 32 points and 8 rebounds though his efforts fell short against the powerful Phoenix Suns who got away with the 106-102 win. Devin Booker paced the winning side with 22 points and Mikal Bridges tapped 18 points.
Dallas German forward Maxi Kleber added 10 points in 27 minutes coming from the bench.
Another narrow victory took place Wednesday, this time in favor of the Boston Celtics that prevailed over the Milwaukee Bucks 122-121. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a double-double of 35 points, 13 rebounds though his efforts fell short as Jayson Tatum knocked the game-winner for the Celtics.
Jaylen Brown scored 33 points for Boston, which entered the fourth quarter leading by 17 points.
Domantas Sabonis enjoyed a 32-point performance to lead Indiana Pacers to a 121-107 inaugural victory, along with 13 rebounds and 5 assists. RJ Barrett and Alec Burks dropped 26 and 22 points each for the opposing side.
Frenchman Evan Fournier came up strong to pace the Orlando Magic to a 113-107 win over the Miami Heat on his 25-point night. Nikola Vucevic posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards, as Bam Adebayo led the opposing side with 25 points.
Joel Embiid scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 113-107 win over Washington Wizards and spoiled Russell Westbrook’s triple-double Wizards’ debut with 21 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds.
Deni Avdija dropped 7 points and 4 rebounds as a starter in his debut, while Davis Bertans had 14 points for the Wizards. On the other end, Furkan Korkmaz had 11 points for the winners.
Trae Young (37 points) and the Atlanta Hawks dominated the Chicago Bulls 124-104 to start the season on a good note. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 15 points, 7 rebounds in his first official Hawks game and Danilo Gallinari added 13 points and 4 rebounds.
Zach LaVine led all scorers of the Bulls with 22 points, as Lauri Markannen had 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Charlotte Hornets 121-114 despite a 42-point performance by Terry Rozier that paced the Hornets. Collin Sexton led all Cavs’ scorers with 27 points, while Cedi Osman had 11 points coming from the bench.
Brandon Ingram had 24 points as the New Orleans Pelicans rallied from an 11-point deficit and beat the Toronto Raptors 113-99. Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 20 points. Kyle Lowry finished with 18 points and 10 assists.
DeMar DeRozan had 28 points and nine assists, Dejounte Murray added 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs used a balanced attack to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 131-119, overcoming a huge game by Ja Morant who added 44 points and 9 assists for the Grizzlies.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Pistons 111-101 to tip off the season with a win. John Jackson was the leading scorer for Pistons, adding 19 points.
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