By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Kristaps Porzingis scored 16 in the fourth quarter and finished with 27 points overall as the Washington Wizards came back from down 16 to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127 – 119. Despite the result, the Wizards have slim chances of making the Play-In tournament in the Eastern Conference since there’s a gap of five wins between them and the 10th-placed New York Knicks.
Porzingis also drained the 3-point dagger for the 125 – 119 with 40 seconds remaining; his first triple in the game. The Latvian big man completed the match with 9-17 shots and dished out five assists.
The Lakers didn’t manage to get back-to-back victories in a historic night for LeBron James. The four-time champion passed Utah Jazz legend and former Laker Karl Malone to move to second place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list while dropping 38 points in the loss.
Deni Avdija had 17 points, including a key 3-pointer for 122-116. Tomas Satoransky contributed 16 points plus six assists.
Luka Doncic scored 37 points on a career-high eight 3-pointers but his performance wasn’t enough for the Dallas Mavericks that fell to the Charlotte Hornets 108 – 129.
Frank Ntilikina posted 12 points and a season-high six rebounds while Maxi Kleber scored nine points and seven rebounds for the Mavs. Davis Bertans had two points.
The rest of Saturday’s NBA results and Euro-Scorers:
Minnesota Timberwolves – Milwaukee Bucks 138 – 119 (Thanasis Antetokounmpo 10 points, Serge Ibaka five points – five rebounds)
Cleveland Cavaliers – Detroit Pistons 113 – 109 (Cedi Osman 16 points, Lauri Markkanen nine points)