By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Jonas Valanciunas had a great night to put New Orleans back in the second position in the West. The Lithuanian center had 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists in the Pelicans’ 113-93 win against Indiana.
This was his 14th double-double since the beginning of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season, and the 300th ever. Willy Hernangomez, who started from the bench, added 7 points and 7 rebounds.
On Indiana’s losing side, Goga Bitadze only played 11 minutes, being perfect from the field and scoring 4 points.
In Damian Lillard’s all-time scoring ceremony for the Portland Trail Blazers night, Jusuf Nurkic stole the show with a double-double of 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Bosnian was decisive in his team’s 124-113 win against Charlotte, and Theo Maledon (2 p, 4 a) couldn’t help the Hornets.
Another important double-double was registered by Alperen Sengun, who pushed the Houston Rockets with an impressive performance of 25 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 10/12 from the field.
The Turkish big won the duel against Chicago’s own Nikola Vucevic, who only had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Goran Dragic scored 12 off the bench, but the Bulls lost 118-133.
Despite Jeremy Sochan having only 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, the San Antonio Spurs had the upper hand over the Utah Jazz. Jakob Poeltl went close to a double-double with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Lauri Markkanen had yet again another impressive night, scoring 32 points with 12 rebounds and 12/12 FT in his team’s loss. Simone Fontecchio went scoreless in 5 minutes on the court.
Ivica Zubac also contributed to his team’s win with a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds. Nicolas Batum started the game, putting up 7 points and 6 rebounds in the Clippers’ 131-142 on-the-road overtime victory.
On the losing side, Bojan Bogdanovic and Killian Hayes did their best to help the Detroit Pistons. The Croatian veteran had 23 points, while the French playmaker recorded a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists.
Nikola Jovic started for the Miami Heat for the 7th time this season, scoring 9 points with 3 rebounds in the 113-110 win against Minnesota. Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 8 rebounds in 31 minutes.
Cedi Osman scored 11 points off the bench for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the team from Ohio lost 117-125 at home against the Brooklyn Nets.
Results:
Cleveland Cavaliers – Brooklyn Nets 117-125 (Osman 11 p)
Detroit Pistons – Los Angeles Clippers 131-142 OT (Zubac 12 p, 15 r; Batum 7 p, 6 r; Bogdanovic 23 p, Hayes 18 p, 10 a)
Miami Heat – Minnesota Timberwolves 113-110 (Jovic 9 p, 3 r; Gobert 10 p, 8 r)
Chicago Bulls – Houston Rockets 118-133 (Sengun 25 p, 11 r, 6 a; Vucevic 10 p, 3 r, 4 a; Dragic 12 p)
New Orleans Pelicans – Indiana Pacers 113-93 (Valanciunas 20 p, 12 r, 5 a; Hernangomez 7 p, 7 r; Bitadze 4 p)
San Antonio Spurs – Utah Jazz 126-122 (Sochan 6 p, 5 r, 3 a; Poeltl 16 p, 9 r; Markkanen 32 p, 12 r)
Portland Trail Blazers – Charlotte Hornets 124-113 (Nurkic 28 p, 15 r, 6 a; Maledon 2 p, 4 a)
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston 24-10
2. Milwaukee 22-11
3. Brooklyn 22-12
4. Cleveland 22-13
5. Philadelphia 20-12
6. NY Knicks 18-16
7. Atlanta 17-16
8. Indiana 17-17
9. Miami 17-17
10. Toronto 15-18
11. Chicago 14-19
12. Washington 13-21
13. Orlando 13-21
14. Charlotte 9-25
15. Detroit 8-28
Western Conference
1. Denver 21-11
2. New Orleans 21-12
3. Memphis 20-12
4. LA Clippers 20-15
5. Phoenix 19-15
6. Sacramento 17-14
7. Dallas 18-16
8. Portland 18-16
9. Utah Jazz 19-17
10. Golden State 16-18
11. Minnesota 16-18
12. Oklahoma 14-19
13. LA Lakers 13-20
14. San Antonio 11-22
15. Houston 10-23
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images