By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic finished with a triple-double of 19 points, a career-high 18 assists and 12 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 124 – 111 to capture their first win of the regular season.
Jamal Murray added 21 points for the Nuggets while Facu Campazzo came off the bench to play five minutes and score four points via free throws. James Harden led the shorthanded Rockets (John Wall, Eric Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins, Mason Jones out due to COVID-19 protocol) with 24 points.
In Oklahoma, Bojan Bogdanovic had 23 points and Rudy Gobert 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Utah Jazz 110-109 win over the Thunder. Donovan Mitchell (20 points, five rebounds) hit the game-winner for the Jazz with seven seconds to play.
Theo Maledon had six points in 20 minutes off the bench for the Thunder while Aleksej Pokusevski went scoreless in the 14 minutes he spent on the court.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points on 5-7 triples while notching five rebounds and five assists to help the Atlanta Hawks defeat the Detroit Pistons 128 for their third straight win. Clint Capela added seven points and nine rebounds.
Killien Hayes was a starter for the Pistons and finished the match with eight points (6-18 shots) and a game-high-tying eight assists. Svi Mihaliuk scored 4 and Sekou Doubmouya 2.
The Memphis Grizzlies grabbed their first victory of 2020-21 by downing the Brooklyn Nets 116 – 111 with Jonas Valanciunas contributing 14 points and 14 rebounds. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had 21 points and six rebounds for the Nets.
In the big clash of the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115 – 107. While Damian Lillard (30 points) and CJ McCollum (20 points, 11 assists) led the way, Jusuf Nurkic had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the winning squad.
Dennis Schroder finished with 24 points for the Lakers and was the team’s second-highest scorer after Lebron James (29 points, nine rebounds, six assists). Marc Gasol had four points and seven rebounds.