By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings are on a roll, making it six consecutive wins with a late surge Sunday. Posting his ninth double-double of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season, the Lithuanian forward chipped in 15 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and one steal in the win, 137-129, against the Detroit Pistons. A couple of European starters for the visitors in experienced Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovic drawing 21 points and French youngster Killian Hayes with nine points and six assists.
Missing MVP Nikola Jokic and surviving Luka Doncic at the buzzer, the undermanned Denver Nuggets edged the Dallas Mavericks, 98-97, in another NBA Sundays collision. Slovenian Vlatko Cancar went for seven points, four rebounds, and two steals, coming off the bench for the Nuggets. His international teammate, Doncic finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Latvian Davis Bertans scored 12 of his 15 points in the second quarter.
Bradley Beal left with an injury in the last seconds of the game, before the Washington Wizards sealed the win, 106-102, over the Charlotte Hornets. Israeli Deni Avdija produced a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double and in a rough shooting night Latvian Kristaps Porzingis put in 12 more points.
Elsewhere, Turkish reserve Cedi Osman had his best game of the season packing a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers overpowered the Miami Heat, 113-87. For the Heat, Serbian rookie Nikola Jovic tallied seven points, five assists, and four rebounds.
More NBA Sundays action and notable European showings:
Phoenix Suns – New York Knicks 116-95 (Isaiah Hartenstein 7pts, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 1pt)
Brooklyn Nets – Memphis Grizzlies 127-115 (Santi Aldama 8pts)
Houston Rockets – Golden State Warriors 120-127 (Alperen Sengun 4pts, 7reb, 3ast, Usman Garuba 3pts, 6reb, 2stl)
Los Angeles Lakers – San Antonio Spurs 123-92 (Dennis Schroder 13pts – Jeremy Sochan 12pts, 6reb, 3stl)
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 13-3
2. Milwaukee Bucks 11-4
3. Cleveland Cavaliers 10-6
4. Atlanta Hawks 10-6
5. Indiana Pacers 9-6
6. Washington Wizards 10-7
7. Toronto Raptors 9-8
8. Philadelphia 76ers 8-8
9. Brooklyn Nets 8-9
10. New York Knicks 8-9
11. Miami Heat 7-10
12. Chicago Bulls 6-10
13. Orlando Magic 5-12
14. Charlotte Hornets 4-14
15. Detroit Pistons 3-15
Western Conference
1. Utah Jazz 12-6
2. Phoenix Suns 10-6
3. Portland Trail Blazers 10-6
4. Denver Nuggets 10-6
5. Sacramento Kings 9-6
6. Memphis Grizzlies 10-7
7. Los Angeles Clippers 10-7
8. New Orleans Pelicans 9-7
9. Dallas Mavericks 9-7
10. Minnesota Timberwolves 8-8
11. Golden State Warriors 8-9
12. Oklahoma City Thunder 7-9
13. Los Angeles Lakers 5-10
14. San Antonio Spurs 6-12
15. Houston Rockets 3-14
-Top six teams of each conference advance directly to Playoffs
-Teams seeded 7th to 10th will compete in Play-In tournament
Photo Credit: Getty Images