By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points, nine rebounds and four assists in his first game against former team Dallas Mavericks to help the Washington Wizards get a 135 – 103 win on the road.
“Everybody had my back today,” Porzingis said. “They knew it was… I don’t want to say it was a personal game, but it’s always fun to compete against your former team.” The Latvian big man shot 8-18 from the field and 6-7 free throws while adding two steals to his statline. Kevan Caldwell-Pope led the Wizards overall with 35 points.
Luka Doncic produced 36 points, seven rebounds and six assists but apart from him and Jalen Brunson (21 points, five rebounds), no other Mavericks scored in double figures. Jason Kidd was ejected with nine minutes to play and his team down 105 – 85.
Deni Avdija contributed 14 points off the bench for the Wizards while Tomas Satoransky sent seven assists to his teammates to go with his four rebounds and two points.
Nikola Jokic delivered another MVP-caliber performance with 38 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists but the Denver Nuggets couldn’t contain the Minnesota Timberwolves and fell 130 – 136 at home.
Things could’ve played out differently if the Nuggets didn’t commit 18 turnovers. “”We had some stupid turnovers,” Jokic commented.
Karl Anthony-Towns had 32 points and nine rebounds against Jokic, a battle between two of the top big men in the league.
The New Orleans Pelicans became the latest team to upset the Los Angeles Lakers. Jonas Valanciunas had finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to help the Pels leave Crypto.com Arena with a 114 – 11 win.
The return of LeBron James and Anthony Davis wasn’t combined with a victory for the struggling Lakers that dropped to 31 – 46 and below the Play-In zone. “The big picture is that it was pretty much a must-win for us, and we didn’t get the job done,” James said.
LeBron scored 38 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Davis had 23 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in his first appearance after missing six weeks and 18 matches due to foot sprain.
French guards Killian Hayes dropped a career-high 26 points while also notching eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a great matchup against fellow French guard Theo Maledon, as the Detroit Pistons beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 110 – 101.
Maledon completed the game with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists but the Thunder needed more to overcome the Pistons. Vit Krejci had seven points for Oklahoma.
The rest of Friday’s NBA results and Euro-Scorers:
Orlando Magic – Toronto Raptors 89 – 102 (Ignas Brazdeikis 13 points)
Memphis Grizzlies – Phoenix Suns 122 – 114 (Santi Aldama 12 points, five rebounds)
Boston Celtics – Indiana Pacers 128 – 123 (Goga Bitadze 13 points, Daniel Theis 10 points – eight rebounds)
Houston Rockets – Sacramento Kings 117 – 122
Milwaukee Bucks – Los Angeles Clippers 119 – 155 (Thanasis Antetokounmpo 12 points, Serge Ibaka eight points – 10 rebounds, Sandro Mamukelashvili nine points)
San Antonio Spurs – Portland Trail Blazers 130 – 111