By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic continued dominating, but it wasn’t enough for the win, as Los Angeles Clippers defeated Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena 113-100, with a season-high 33 points from Kawhi Leonard.
The Slovenian superstar was unstoppable, scoring 43 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists. He put in yet another brilliant performance and stayed the top scorer of the NBA since Christmas with 39,1 points on average.
Luka took his time to warm up, missing four of his first five shots and scoring 12 points in the first half before finding the rhythm. During the last 12 minutes, he scored 20 points, but it wasn’t enough.
“We lost to them, and I don’t know if it was a big night. We played good defense in the second half, but it wasn’t there in the first,” Luka said after his ninth double-double vs. the Clippers.
Ivica Zubac had eight points and seven rebounds for the winning side, while Nicolas Batum added five and six rebounds. Frank Ntilikina got just three points for Dallas, as Davis Bertans went scoreless.
Philadelphia 76ers crushed Detroit Pistons at home 147-116, with Joel Embiid needing just 24 minutes to dominate the game completely.
The Cameronian with French citizenship scored 36 points with 11 rebounds, shooting 12/20 from the field and perfect 11/11 from the free throw line.
“We didn’t want to mess around. I wanted to make sure that we were all together and on the same page that it was going to be a three-quarter game,” Embiid said after returning to the field after a three-game absence.
Donovan Mitchel returned to Utah and scored 46 points in a 116-114 Cleveland Cavaliers loss to the Jazz.
Lauri Markkanen had another great night, scoring 25 points for the winning side with 16 rebounds. He joined Rudy Gobert and Karl Malone as the only Jazz with a 25/15 game on 12 free throws (12/14 from the line).
Jusuf Nurkic’s double-double didn’t help Portland Trail Blazers win at home, as Orlando Magic took a 109-106 win.
Nurkic scored 22 points and grabbed ten rebounds, but Franz Wagner stole the show with 29 points for the team from Florida, scoring 15 in the last quarter.
The young German international also grabbed two steals and is now leading Magic in points, steals and threes this season.
Paolo Banchero followed him with 19 points and ten rebounds and is now Top 3 in PPG, RPG, APG, and SPG among rookies.
Toronto Raptors grabbed a 132-120 win against Charlotte Hornets, with the British OG Anunoby scoring 22 points.
Phoenix Suns stunned the defending champions Golden State Warriors with a 125-113 win in San Francisco.
Dario Saric was among the best on the Arizona team, scoring 19 points with nine rebounds and seven assists.
NBA results:
Philadelphia 76ers – Detroit Pistons 147-116 (Embiid 36p, 11r, Korkmaz 4p – Hayes 5p, 6as)
Miami Heat – Oklahoma City Thunder 112-111
Toronto Raptors – Charlotte Hornets 132-120 (Anunoby 22p)
Utah Jazz – Cleveland Cavs 116-114 (Markkanen 25p, 16r)
Golden State Warriors – Phoenix Suns 113-125 (Saric 19p, 9r, 7as)
Portland Trail Blazers – Orlando Magic 106-109 (Nurkic 22p, 10r – F. Wagner 29p, Banchero 19p, 10r, M. Wagner 11p)
LA Clippers – Dallas Mavericks 113-101 (Zubac 8p, 7r, Batum 5p, 6r – Doncic 43p, 11r, Ntilikina 3p)
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston 29-12
2. Brooklyn 27-13
3. Milwaukee 26-14
4. Cleveland 26-16
5. Philadelphia 25-15
6. Indiana 23-18
7. NY Knicks 22-19
8. Miami 22-20
9. Atlanta 19-21
10. Chicago 19-22
11. Toronto 18-23
12. Washington 17-24
13. Orlando 16-26
14. Charlotte 11-31
15. Detroit 11-33
Western Conference
1. Denver 27-13
2. Memphis 27-13
3. New Orleans 25-16
4. Dallas 23-19
5. Sacramento 21-18
6. Golden State 20-21
7. LA Clippers 22-21
8. Phoenix 21-21
9. Minnesota 20-21
10. Portland 19-21
11. Utah 21-23
12. LA Lakers 19-22
13. Oklahoma 18-23
14. San Antonio 13-28
15. Houston 10-30