By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Vucevic had his best game with the Chicago Bulls jersey, scoring 32 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and dishing out five assists in the 113 – 97 win over the Domantas Sabonis-less (ankle) Indiana Pacers. It was the second straight victory for the Bulls.
Vucevic’s offensive dominance included 4-7 3-pointers out of 14-29 field goals overall. Lauri Markkanen finished with 15 points and six rebounds for the Bulls while Tomas Satoransky added seven points and six boards.
Goga Bitadze had four points for Indiana.
Vucevic wasn’t the only Balkan peninsula representative with a mighty performance last night (6/4). In Denver, Nikola Jokic delivered some all-around brilliance of 27 points,11 assists and eight rebounds in 27 minutes as the Nuggets beat the Detroit Pistons 134 – 119. The Joker took 16 shots and made 13 of them.
Sekou Doumbouya scored two points in nine minutes for the Pistons.
The NBA’s “-ices” were on a roll on Tuesday. Bogdan Bogdanovic didn’t want to miss on the fun, posting 21 points (8 – 11 shots, including 5 – 8 triples), four rebounds and four assists to help the Atlanta Hawks defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 123 – 107.
Danilo Gallinari pitched in 14 points for the Hawks and Clint Capela notched 12 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas made his long-awaited return to action with 10 points on 4-13 shots off the bench in his first NBA game in a year.
Marc Gasol hasn’t been exactly a focal point for the Los Angeles Lakers this season but the game against the Toronto Raptors was different. The veteran Spanish big man finished with a season-high 13 points, nine rebounds plus five assists to push his team to a 110 – 101 win.
The Lakers also got help by Dennis Schroder’s 12 points and nine assists.
Jonas Valanciunas produced his 18th straight double-double (20 points, 12 rebounds) to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Miami Heat 124 – 112 for the team’s third straight win.
For the Heat, Goran Dragic had nine points and Nemanja Bjelica four points.
The rest of Tuesday’s NBA results:
Boston Celtics – Philadelphia 76ers 106 – 96 (Furkan Korkmaz 10 points)
Golden State Warriors – Milwaukee Bucks 122 – 101 (Thanasis Antetokounmpo 10 points)
Los Angeles Clippers – Portland Trail Blazers 133 – 116 (Enes Kanter 13 points/15 rebounds, Ivica Zubac 11 points/five rebounds, Nicolas Batum five points/six rebounds)