By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Lauri Markkanen hit the go-ahead three-pointers for the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasting the Denver Nuggets, 119-116, in overtime Friday night. The Finnish forward’s team-high of 31 points was combined with ten rebounds, four rebounds, and three assists. Serbian star Nikola Jokic finished with 32 points, ten rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and one block in the losing effort. Besides the Europeans leading their teams in Cleveland, Turkish Cedi Osman did not play for the Cavs and Slovenian Vlatko Cancar (right foot surgery) logged another appearance on the Nuggets injury list.
Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic poured a season-high 30 points, including five triples, to go along with three assists, three steals, and two rebounds powering the Atlanta Hawks to the 120-105 victory opposite the Memphis Grizzlies. Swiss Clint Capela chipped in 18 points, Italian Danilo Gallinari added 11 points, and French Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot made seven points. French Killian Tillie (left knee soreness) was ruled out by the Grizzlies for the 2021-22 NBA Regular Season contest with Spanish Santi Aldama and French Yves Pons on G League assignments.
Returning to action, Georgian Goga Bitadze set his NBA high at 23 points adding nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block for the Indiana Pacers in the away win, 121-118, over the Houston Rockets. Turkish Alperen Sengun ending up with 15 points, four rebounds, and three blocks was not enough for the home side, nor German Dennis Schroder’s six points, four rebounds, and three assists. Spanish Usman Garuba (right ankle) shifted back to the injury list.
French Rudy Gobert went for 19 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks lifting the Utah Jazz to the lopsided win, 121-92, versus the Los Angeles Clippers. Fellow starter, Spanish Juancho Hernangomez added six points, seven rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and two steals. Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic (left calf strain) was sidelined. The visitors featured Croatian Ivica Zubac, German Isaiah Hartenstein, and French Nicolas Batum at nine, four, and two points, respectively.
German Daniel Theis ended up with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals as the Boston Celtics blew out the Sacramento Kings, 126-97, on the road. For the hosts, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis posted a huge-double-double of 30 points and 20 rebounds alongside five assists, one steal, and one block. Ukrainian Alex Len did not log playing time and Portuguese Neemias Queta was held to G League action with the Stockton Kings.
Brief appearance for Turkish Furkan Korkmaz as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 111-101. Held to 5/20 field goals, Slovenian Luka Doncic got to 17 points, ten assists, seven rebounds, and one block for the Mavs. German Maxi Kleber slotted six points in 19 minutes, while French Frank Ntilikina and Latvian Davis Bertans had three points apiece. Serbian Boban Marjanovic stayed on the bench.
Serbian Aleksej Pokusevski moving to the starting lineup generated ten points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, but the Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Miami Heat, 120-108. French Olivier Sarr started as well but was limited to three rebounds and one block. French Theo Maledon and Czech Vit Krejci made four and three points, respectively. On the winning end, Turkish Omer Yurtseven grabbed four rebounds.
Croatian Dario Saric (right knee) has yet to be cleared to return to action but the Phoenix Suns are leading the overall standings and routed the Chicago Bulls, 129-102, in their latest outing. Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and one assist but to no avail. Fellow Montenegrin Marko Simonovic was on assignment to the Windy City Bulls.
Connecting 7/11 field goals over 21 minutes, Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas produced a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double plus a couple of assists sending the New Orleans Pelicans past the San Antonio Spurs, 124-91. Spanish Willy Hernangomez threw in 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one block. For the hosts, Austrian Jakob Poeltl was limited to seven points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
French Evan Fournier rounded up 15 points, four assists, three steals, and two rebounds helping the New York Knicks clinch the win, 100-97, versus the Washington Wizards. Latvian Kristaps Porzingis posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in the losing effort, while Israeli Deni Avdija paired four points with four rebounds, and Czech Tomas Satoransky had three points, two rebounds, and one assist.
Slovenian Goran Dragic provided nine points, ten assists, three steals, and two rebounds for the Brooklyn Nets in the win, 128-123, against the Portland Trail Blazers. Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic (left foot plantar fasciitis) extended his stint on the injury list of the slumping Blazers.
Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and German Isaac Bonga did not play, and British OG Anunoby (fractured right ring finger) stayed on the injury list as the Toronto Raptors fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, 128-123, in overtime.
Friday results:
Philadelphia 76ers – Dallas Mavericks 111-101
Atlanta Hawks – Memphis Grizzlies 120-105
Brooklyn Nets – Portland Trail Blazers 128-123
Cleveland Cavaliers – Denver Nuggets 119-116 OT (107-107)
New York Knicks – Washington Wizards 100-97
Toronto Raptors – Los Angeles Lakers 123-128 OT (116-116)
Houston Rockets – Indiana Pacers 118-121
Miami Heat – Oklahoma City Thunder 120-108
San Antonio Spurs – New Orleans Pelicans 91-124
Utah Jazz – Los Angeles Clippers 121-92
Phoenix Suns – Chicago Bulls 129-102
Sacramento Kings – Boston Celtics 97-126
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. y-Miami Heat 47-24
2. Milwaukee Bucks 44-26
3. Philadelphia 76ers 43-26
4. Boston Celtics 43-28
5. Chicago Bulls 41-29
6. Cleveland Cavaliers 40-30
7. Toronto Raptors 39-31
8. Brooklyn Nets 37-34
9. Atlanta Hawks 35-35
10. Charlotte Hornets 35-35
11. New York Knicks 30-40
12. Washington Wizards 29-40
13. x-Indiana Pacers 24-47
14. x-Detroit Pistons 19-51
15. x-Orlando Magic 18-53
Western Conference
1. y-Phoenix Suns 57-14
2. Memphis Grizzlies 48-23
3. Golden State Warriors 47-23
4. Utah Jazz 44-26
5. Dallas Mavericks 43-27
6. Denver Nuggets 42-29
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 41-30
8. Los Angeles Clippers 36-37
9. Los Angeles Lakers 30-40
10. New Orleans Pelicans 29-41
11. San Antonio Spurs 27-44
12. Portland Trail Blazers 26-43
13. Sacramento Kings 25-47
14. Oklahoma City Thunder 20-50
15. x-Houston Rockets 17-53
y-clinched playoff berth
x-eliminated
Photo Credit: Getty Images