By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Dallas Mavericks strolled back to the win column rolling the Houston Rockets, 113-100, Friday night. With Hakeem Olajuwon courtside, Slovenian Luka Doncic contributed 30 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. Latvian Davis Bertans paired six points with five rebounds, but German Maxi Kleber and Serbian Boban Marjanovic did not score, and French Frank Ntilikina did not play. On the opposite end, Turkish starter Alperen Sengun had six points and six rebounds, while German Dennis Schroder tallied three points, seven assists, and three rebounds. Moving closer to a return, Spanish Usman Garuba (left wrist) was not available.
Swiss Clint Capela posted a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double helping the Atlanta Hawks hold on to the 112-106 victory opposite the visiting Los Angeles Clippers. Italian Danilo Gallinari threw in 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists, and Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic added 11 points, six assists, and three rebounds. French Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot did not log playing time. For the losing side, Croatian Ivica Zubac packed together 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal, but was not enough. French Nicolas Batum finished with 13 points and German Isaiah Hartenstein had two points.
Gregg Popovich became the head coach with the most wins in the NBA Regular Season after the San Antonio Spurs rallied past the Utah Jazz, 104-102. Austrian Jakob Poeltl recorded a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double in the historic win. As for the Jazz, French Rudy Gobert produced a double-double consisting of 13 points and 16 rebounds and rejected five shots. Spanish Juancho Hernangomez stayed on the bench and Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic was ruled out with a right lower leg contusion.
For the second time in his last three showings, LeBron James reaches the 50-point mark. His most recent outburst led the Los Angeles Lakers to the win, 122-109, versus the Washington Wizards. Latvian Kristaps Porzingis posted a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double but to no avail. Czech teammate Tomas Satoransky ended up with 14 points, four assists, three rebounds, one steal, and one block, while Israeli Deni Avdija was held to four rebounds and two assists.
Gary Trent Jr. dropped 42 points as the Toronto Raptors held off the Phoenix Suns, 117-112. Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk did not enter the court. British OG Anunoby (ring finger fracture) was on the injury list and German Isaac Bonga was assigned to the Raptors 905. Croatian Dario Saric (right knee) remained among the multiple players forced to the sidelines for the NBA leaders.
Both Frenchman Killian Tillie and Yves Pons stayed on the bench through the Memphis Grizzlies claiming the win, 118-114, over the New York Knicks. Spanish Santi Aldama was on a G League assignment. French Evan Fournier registered 12 points, four assists, and four rebounds for the visitors. Croatian two-way forward Luka Samanic was assigned to the G League.
Coming off the bench, German Moritz Wagner generated 18 points, six rebounds, and one assist, making a key contribution to the Orlando Magic’s 118-110 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. His brother, Franz Wagner limited to 3/10 from the field, chipped in eight points, six rebounds, and four assists. Lithuanian Ignas Brazdeikis did not leave the bench.
Spanish Willy Hernangomez paired 15 points with six rebounds and Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas ten points with eight rebounds for the New Orleans Pelicans in the loss, 142-120, to the hot-shooting Charlotte Hornets. Lithuanian Arnoldas Kulboka, a two-way player for the Hornets, did not budge from his G League assignment.
Turkish Omer Yurtseven put in two points and two rebounds for the Miami Heat in the win, 117-105, versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. Finnish Lauri Markkanen combined 15 points with four rebounds and Turkish Cedi Osman had eight points plus three rebounds and two assists for the Cavs.
German Daniel Theis registered three rebounds, one assist, and one block as the Boston Celtics went by the Detroit Pistons, 114-103. French Killian Hayes (right adductor contusion) remained on the Pistons injury list.
Friday results:
Orlando Magic – Minnesota Timberwolves 118-110
Atlanta Hawks – Los Angeles Clippers 112-106
Boston Celtics – Detroit Pistons 114-103
Houston Rockets – Dallas Mavericks 100-113
Memphis Grizzlies – New York Knicks 1181-114
Miami Heat – Cleveland Cavaliers 117-105
New Orleans Pelicans – Charlotte Hornets 120-142
San Antonio Spurs – Utah Jazz 104-102
Phoenix Suns – Toronto Raptors 112-117
Los Angeles Lakers – Washington Wizards 122-109
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat 45-23
2. Milwaukee Bucks 42-25
3. Philadelphia 76ers 40-25
4. Chicago Bulls 40-26
5. Boston Celtics 41-27
6. Cleveland Cavaliers 38-28
7. Toronto Raptors 36-30
8. Brooklyn Nets 34-33
9. Charlotte Hornets 33-35
10. Atlanta Hawks 32-34
11. Washington Wizards 29-36
12. New York Knicks 28-39
13. Indiana Pacers 22-45
14. Detroit Pistons 18-49
15. x-Orlando Magic 18-50
Western Conference
1. y-Phoenix Suns 53-14
2. Memphis Grizzlies 46-22
3. Golden State Warriors 45-22
4. Utah Jazz 41-25
5. Dallas Mavericks 41-26
6. Denver Nuggets 40-27
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 38-30
8. Los Angeles Clippers 35-34
9. Los Angeles Lakers 29-37
10. New Orleans Pelicans 27-40
11. San Antonio Spurs 26-41
12. Portland Trail Blazers 25-40
13. Sacramento Kings 24-44
14. Oklahoma City Thunder 20-46
15. Houston Rockets 17-50
y-clinched Playoff berth
x-eliminated
Photo Credit: Getty Images