By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With both teams coming out of the All-Star break, Donovan Mitchell tucked in a career-high seven triples and scored 33 points leading the Utah Jazz past the Dallas Mavericks, 114-109, on Friday night.
Fellow starters, Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points and French Rudy Gobert posted a 14-point, 17-rebound double-double alongside three rejections. However, Spanish Juancho Hernangomez stayed on the bench. For the Mavs, Slovenian Luka Doncic finished with 23 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, while Latvian Davis Bertans had 17 points. German Maxi Kleber went for three points with 1/7 field goals, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Serbian Boban Marjanovic and French Frank Ntilikina did not play.
Sixth win in a row for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Los Angeles Lakers on the heels of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting LeBron James looking to remain a Laker. Coming off the bench, German Isaiah Hartenstein put in 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two blocks to the 105-102 victory. Croatian Ivica Zubac paired six points with seven rebounds. Fellow starter French Nicolas Batum was held scoreless but produced two rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Going into the second overtime, the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Washington Wizards, 157-153. Austrian Jakob Poeltl contributed a new NBA personal-high 28 points to go along with 11 rebounds, eight assists, and two blocks. Czech Tomas Satoransky added three points. On the losing end, Israeli Deni Avdija got 14 points, nine rebounds, two steals, one assist, and one block, as Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (knee) remained out and French Joel Ayayi on a G League assignment.
French Theo Maledon packed 14 points and Serbian Aleksej Pokusevski added 13 points helping the Oklahoma City Thunder prevail, 129-125, over the Indiana Pacers in overtime. French Olivier Sarr threw in four points, four rebounds, and two assists. The fourth European bench player, Czech Vit Krejci had two assists and two rebounds. For the hosts, Georgian Goga Bitadze grabbed one rebound in a brief showing and Spanish Ricky Rubio (knee) stayed on the injury list.
Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas posted an 18-point, 17-rebound double-double helping the New Orleans Pelicans to an impressive road win against the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns, 117-102. CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram combined for 60 points, while Spanish reserve Willy Hernangomez tipped in three points, three rebounds, and one block. For the hosts, coming off an eight-win streak, Croatian Dario Saric (knee) remains out.
German Franz Wagner generated 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists as the Orlando Magic beat the Houston Rockets, 119-111. His brother Moritz (rib) was sidelined and Lithuanian Ignas Brazdeikis did not check in off the bench. The visitors featured German Dennis Schroder at ten points and Turkish Alperen Sengun at six points, but Spanish Usman Garuba (wrist) was out.
James Harden debuting with the Philadelphia 76ers was combined with a big win on the road, 133-102, opposite the Minnesota Timberwolves. The newcomer had 27 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds, while Joel Embiid posted a 34-point, 10-rebound double-double. Turkish Furkan Korkmaz put in five points, two rebounds, and one assist over 17 minutes.
Overcoming RJ Barrett’s career-high 46 points, the Miami Heat topped the New York Knicks, 115-100. Turkish Omer Yurtseven ended up with seven points and two rebounds. French Evan Fournier had 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists on the wrong end of the outcome.
With Lithuanian two-way player Arnoldas Kulboka still on assignment, the Charlotte Hornets routed the Toronto Raptors, 125-93. Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had three points and two rebounds for the losing side with British OG Anunoby (finger) sidelined and German Isaac Bonga on assignment.
Friday results:
Charlotte Hornets – Toronto Raptors 125-93
Indiana Pacers – Oklahoma City Thunder 125-129 OT (123-123)
Orlando Magic – Houston Rockets 119-111
Washington Wizards – San Antonio Spurs 153-157 2OT (145-145, 130-130)
New York Knicks – Miami Heat 100-115
Minnesota Timberwolves – Philadelphia 76ers 102-133
Phoenix Suns – New Orleans Pelicans 102-117
Utah Jazz – Dallas Mavericks 114-109
Los Angeles Lakers – Los Angeles Clippers 102-105
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat 39-21
2. Chicago Bulls 39-21
3. Philadelphia 76ers 36-23
4. Milwaukee Bucks 36-24
5. Cleveland Cavaliers 35-24
6. Boston Celtics 35-26
7. Toronto Raptors 32-26
8. Brooklyn Nets 31-29
9. Charlotte Hornets 30-31
10. Atlanta Hawks 28-31
11. Washington Wizards 27-32
12. New York Knicks 25-35
13. Indiana Pacers 20-41
14. Detroit Pistons 14-45
15. Orlando Magic 14-47
Western Conference
1. Phoenix Suns 49-11
2. Golden State Warriors 43-17
3. Memphis Grizzlies 41-20
4. Utah Jazz 37-22
5. Dallas Mavericks 35-25
6. Denver Nuggets 34-25
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 32-29
8. Los Angeles Clippers 31-31
9. Los Angeles Lakers 27-32
10. Portland Trail Blazers 25-35
11. San Antonio Spurs 24-36
12. New Orleans Pelicans 24-36
13. Sacramento Kings 22-39
14. Oklahoma City Thunder 19-41
15. Houston Rockets 15-44
Photo Credit: Getty Images