By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Sitting out the fourth quarter, Nikola Jokic tallied 21 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists over 28 minutes. The Serbian superstar was not necessary as the Denver Nuggets closed out the win, 126-97, against the depleted Phoenix Suns in Ball Arena Wednesday. Slovenian Vlatko Cancar chipped in two points, three assists, three rebounds, and one block in 19 minutes. For the losing side, Croatian Dario Saric started for 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Staying in the Balkans’ representation, Giannis Antetokounmpo had seven points, 18 rebounds, ten assists, and one block as the Milwaukee Bucks skipped past the Atlanta Hawks, 114-105, in State Farm Arena. Playing without Swiss Clint Capela and Trae Young, the home side was led by Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic dropping 22 points with 9/18 field goals to go with five assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis went for 25 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists as the Sacramento Kings beat the slumping Houston Rockets, 135-115, in Golden 1 Center. At the opposite end of the NBA Regular Season fixture, Turkish Alperen Sengun recorded his first career triple-double with ten points, ten assists, and ten rebounds. Spanish Usman Garuba tallied two rebounds and one steal.
At Capital One Arena, the Washington Wizards edged the Chicago Bulls, 100-97, thanks to Kyle Kuzma’s late triple. Missing Latvian teammate Kristaps Porzingis, Israeli Deni Avdija grabbed a career-high 20 points alongside nine points and three assists. For the visitors, Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic posted a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Slovenian Goran Dragic got four points in a rough shooting evening.
More Wednesday action and European showings:
Detroit Pistons – Minnesota Timberwolves 135-118 (Bojan Bogdanovic 27pts, 6reb, 4ast, Killian Hayes 18pts, 9ast, 3reb – Rudy Gobert 16pts, 14reb)
Boston Celtics – New Orleans Pelicans 125-114 (Jonas Valanciunas 13pts, 4reb)
New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers 119-113 (Isaiah Hartenstein 2reb – Goga Bitadze 5pts, 3reb)
Memphis Grizzlies – San Antonio Spurs 135-129 (Santi Aldama 7pts, 5reb – Jakob Poeltl 17pts, 12reb, 5blk, Jeremy Sochan 11pts, 5ast, 3reb, 2stl)
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 30-12
2. Brooklyn Nets 27-13
3. Milwaukee Bucks 27-14
4. Philadelphia 76ers 25-15
5. Cleveland Cavaliers 26-16
6. New York Knicks 23-19
7. Indiana Pacers 23-19
8. Miami Heat 22-20
9. Atlanta Hawks 19-22
10. Chicago Bulls 19-23
11. Toronto Raptors 18-23
12. Washington Wizards 18-24
13. Orlando Magic 16-26
14. Detroit Pistons 12-33
15. Charlotte Hornets 11-31
Western Conference
1. Memphis Grizzlies 28-13
2. Denver Nuggets 28-13
3. New Orleans Pelicans 25-17
4. Sacramento Kings 22-18
5. Dallas Mavericks 23-19
6. Los Angeles Clippers 22-21
7. Phoenix Suns 21-22
8. Golden State Warriors 20-21
9. Utah Jazz 21-23
10. Minnesota Timberwolves 20-22
11. Portland Trail Blazers 19-21
12. Los Angeles Lakers 19-22
13. Oklahoma City Thunder 18-23
14. San Antonio Spurs 13-29
15. Houston Rockets 10-31
-Top six teams of each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seeded 7th to 10th will compete in Play-In tournament
Photo Credit: Getty Images