By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Rudy Gobert posted team-highs 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Utah Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120 – 105 to register their fifth straight win despite the absence of injured Donovan Mitchell.
Gobert shot 8-10 from the field and he would’ve scored even more if he didn’t have an off night from the free-throw line with 6-12. He also delivered two blocks against the Blazers.
Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 15 points for the Jazz.
For a second straight game, the Chicago Bulls‘ offense was too much for the Atlanta Hawks. With the help of a strong double-double by Nikola Vucevic (16 points, 20 rebounds), the Bulls downed the Hawks 131 – 117, a nearly identical score to their 130-118 win vs. Atlanta two nights ago.
Clint Capela also registered a double-double (18 points, 15 rebounds) but his team lacked firepower with guard Bogdan Bogdanovic out (health and safety protocols). Lonzo Ball was also out for the same reason for the Bulls but that didn’t affect his team’s game.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points and got seven rebounds against the Sacramento Kings and that may had been enough for the Luka Doncic-less (health and safety protocols) Dallas Mavericks if not for Chimezie Metu. The Kings‘ big man drained a 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer to hand his team a 95 – 94 home win.
Frank Ntilikina added nine points for the Mavs.
The match of the Los Angeles Lakers at the Memphis Grizzlies developed into a duel of mega-performances between LeBron James and Ja Morant. In the end, it was the latter who celebrated the win (104-99) that arrived mainly thanks to his 41 points and 10 rebounds.
LeBron had 37 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists but the Lakers needed more (again) and suffered their sixth loss over the last seven matches.
The rest of Wednesday’s (29/12) NBA results and Euro Scorers:
Detroit Pistons – New York Knicks 85 – 94
Indiana Pacers – Charlotte Hornets 108 – 116 (Domantas Sabonis 15 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists)
Boston Celtics – Los Angeles Clippers 82 – 91 (Iviza Zubac 14 rebounds, one point)
Phoenix Suns – Oklahoma City Thunder 115 – 97 (Theo Maledon four points)
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