By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic tapped 47 points as the Denver Nuggets held on to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 139-137 in double overtime. Jokic also added 15 rebounds and eight assists, Will Barton scored 28 and Michael Porter Jr. 21 for the shorthanded Nuggets, who played without point guards Jamal Murray (torn ACL in his left knee) and Monte Morris.
Ja Morant had 36 points and 12 assists for Memphis, De’Anthony Melton had 25 points off the bench and Grayson Allen added 24 points for Memphis.
Nikola Vucevic posted another dominant performance with 29 points, 9 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls (24-33) to a 102-96 victory over the Boston Celtics (31-27). Coby White added up 19 points for the winners, while Lauri Markkanen tapped 9 points coming from the bench.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 23 points, 4 rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 33-point performance fell short as the Milwaukee Bucks (35-22) fell to the Phoenix Suns (41-16), as the latter prevailed with a 128-127 win in overtime.
Chris Paul had 22 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds for the Suns, Mikal Bridges had 21 points and DeAndre Ayton scored 20.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points, Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 10 rebounds as NBA-leaders Utah Jazz (43-15) defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (35-23) 111-97.
Jordan Clarkson posted a team-high with 22 points and Joe Ingles followed with 21, as the Jazz bounced back in their re-match against the current champions.
Dennis Schroder was among the main contributors for the Lakers with 15 points and 6 assists.
Bradley Beal led the Washington Wizards (24-33) to a 119-107 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder (20-38) with 30 points, Davis Bertans tapped 21 points coming from the bench, Alex Len had 9 points and Deni Avdija posted 6 points and 6 rebounds.
Darius Bazley led all scorers of the Thunder with 26 points, Theo Maledon tapped 14 points, Svi Mykhailiuk followed with 11 and Aleksej Pokusevski posted 8 points.
Kendrick Nunn scored a season-high 30 points, Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic each added 19 and Miami Heat (30-28) beat Houston Rockets (15-43) 113-91. Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood each scored 18 for the Rockets, who have dropped 33 of their last 37 games. John Wall added 14 for the team.
Derrick White scored 16 of his 25 points in the first quarter and Jakob Poeltl finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, as the San Antonio Spurs (28-28) defeated the Indiana Pacers (26-31) 109-94, to win their second straight game. Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert each scored 18 for the Pacers, which has lost three in a row.
Stephen Curry hit 10 three-pointers and scored a total of 49 points to lead the Golden State Warriors (29-29) to a 107-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers (39-18). On the other end of the court, Joel Embiid flirted with triple-double figures for the Sixers, with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.
Frank Jackson scored 20 points to lift the Detroit Pistons (18-40) to a 109-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers (20-37). Collin Sexton scored 28 points and Darius Garland added 23 for the Cavs.
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