By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic delivered his best performance of the season so far as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 93 – 83.
Doncic finished with season-highs 27 points and 15 rebounds, along with seven assists to lead the Mavs to their second win this season. His all-around performance made up for his shooting struggles (3-10 threes) that have been persistent since the beginning of the season.
On the other side, Doncic’s fellow Slovenian Goran Dragic had 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Maxi Kleber added five points and four rebounds for the Mavs.
The Milwaukee Bucks made short work of the shorthanded Chicago Bulls 126 – 96 behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. The Greek Freak played 29 minutes and shot 9-19 from the field plus 10-18 from the line.
Lauri Markkanen and Tomas Satoransky, along with Ryan Arcidiacono, were out for the Bulls being under the COVID-19 health and safety protocols of the NBA.
Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes as the Memphis Grizzlies downed the Charlotte Hornets 108 – 93. It was the Lithuanian center’s fifth double-double in five games this season.
Deni Avdija’s top game of his first NBA season so far was combined with the first win for the Washington Wizards. Avdija scored 11 points (his first double-digit performance in the NBA) and grabbed seven rebounds in the Wizards‘ 130 – 109 rout over the Minesotta Timberwolves.
Davis Bertans also scored 11 for the Wizards.
Ricky Rubio completed the game with three points and five assists while Juancho Hernangomez had five points in 14 minutes off the bench.
Nikola Jokic flirted with the triple-double (17 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds) but the Denver Nuggets dropped to 1-4 after falling to the Phoenix Suns 103 – 106. Isaiah Hartenstein had seven points for the Nuggets.
Rudy Gobert scored 12 points, including a key layup down the stretch and got nine rebounds as the Utah Jazz held on a Los Angeles Clippers comeback from down 20 to get the 106 – 103 win.
Serge Ibaka had 13 points, Ivica Zubac 12 and Nicolas Batum nine points and seven rebounds for the Clippers. Bojan Bogdanovic had problems connecting to the basket and shot 3-12 en route to finishing with six points for the Jazz.
The Atlanta Hawks captures their fourth win in five games by beating the Brooklyn Nets 114 – 96. Clint Capela contributed an all-around performance of 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while Bojan Bogdanovic had seven points.
The rest of the New Year’s Day results and Euro scorers:
San Antonio Spurs – Los Angeles Lakers 103 – 109 (Dennis Schroder 15 points)
Detroit Pistons – Boston Celtics 96 – 93 (Svi Mykhailiuk nine points, Daniel Theis two points/six rebounds)
Golden State Warriors – Portland Trail Blazers 98 – 123 (Jusuf Nurkic eight points/eight rebounds, Enes Kanter five points)