By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic was all smiles, even though he suffered a bruised knee earlier in the week. This didn’t stop him from returning to action on Friday, as the Denver Nuggets took down the Dallas Mavericks 106-75.
The reigning MVP had 11 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists in 25 minutes of play and Will Barton added up 17 points for the Nuggets that took charge in the second half to deliver this blowout win.
Luka Doncic had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the Mavericks and Trey Burke added 16 points.
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Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, though his efforts weren’t enough for the New Orleans Pelicans that fell to Sacramento Kings 113-109 at home.
Thanks to the efforts of De’Aaron Fox (23 points) and Richaun Holmes (21 points), the Kings moved on with their second straight game away from home.
Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic combined their efforts to grant Portland Trail Blazers a 111-92 win against the LA Clippers. Lillard dropped 25 points and Nurkic had a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
Paul George was six points away from his career-high and led the Clippers with 42 points, 8 rebounds.
Ricky Rubio had 18 points coming from the bench and Lauri Markkanen dropped 17 points for Cleveland Cavaliers though his efforts weren’t enough as the Los Angeles Lakers prevailed with a 113-101 victory in the end.
The duo of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony combined 50 points for the Lakers (26 and 24 points respectively) en route to their third victory of the season.
Fred VanVleet scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Scottie Barnes added 21 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Orlando Magic 110-109 for their second consecutive victory. Cole Anthony led Orlando with 24 points and rookie Jalen Suggs had 21.
Another great scoring duo of the league, James Harden and Kevin Durant combined 51 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 105-98 victory against the Indiana Pacers at home.
Harden had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists while Durant signed off with a double-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
Torrey Craig led all scorers of the Pacers with 28 points, 11 rebounds and Domantas Sabonis added 16, along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The Pacers slipped to a 1-5 record.
Miami Heat held on to get a 114-99 win over the Charlotte Hornets to keep their homecourt protected. Jimmy Butler tapped 32 points, Bam Adebayo added a double-double with 26 points and 19 rebounds and Tyler Herro had 26 points coming from the bench.
Gordon Hayward paced the Hornets with 23 points, while Miles Bridges followed with 22.
Photo: Getty Images