By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Guided by Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets produced a 15th straight win in Ball Arena, 122-118, against the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday. The reigning back-to-back MVP tallied 31 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds posting his 14th triple-double of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season, third in a row and fifth over the last six outings. Besides business as usual, the Serbian center passed Alex English for the most regular-season assists in team history upping his personal total to 3,686. Jamal Murray made the late go-ahead bucket and Slovenian Vlatko Cancar chipped in four points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
As for Slovenian Luka Doncic, he finished with 30 points, eight assists, and four rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks slipped to a loss, 130-122, against the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center. The winning side enjoyed huge European contributions off the bench with Swiss Clint Capela combining 16 points with six rebounds and Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic logging 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Latvian Davis Bertans tucked in one triple in six minutes for the Mavs.
Back from a two-game spell on the injury list, Finnish Lauri Markkanen stuffed in a 34-point, 12-rebound double-double leading the Utah Jazz to the win, 126-103, versus the Los Angeles Clippers. In a three-minute showing, Italian Simone Fontecchio added one three-pointer and one rebound. At the losing end, Croatian Ivica Zubac registered a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double, French Nicolas Batum ended up with 11 points, and French Moussa Diabate went for three points, six rebounds, and three blocks.
More games and European showings:
New York Knicks – Washington Wizards 105-116 (Isaiah Hartenstein 4pts, 4reb – Kristaps Porzingis 22pts, 11reb, Deni Avdija 14pts, 7reb)
Houston Rockets – Charlotte Hornets 117-122 (Alperen Sengun 24pts, 12reb, 6ast, 2stl, Usman Garuba 5reb)
Memphis Grizzlies – Cleveland Cavaliers 115-114 (Santi Aldama 16pts – Ricky Rubio 7pts, 4reb, 3ast, Cedi Osman 1reb, 1ast)
New Orleans Pelicans – Miami Heat 98-124 (Jonas Valanciunas 18pts, 10reb, Willy Hernangomez 7pts)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Indiana Pacers 126-106 (Goga Bitadze 2pts)
Los Angeles Lakers – Sacramento Kings 111-116 (Dennis Schroder 5pts)
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 33-12
2. Milwaukee Bucks 29-16
3. Philadelphia 76ers 28-16
4. Brooklyn Nets 27-16
5. Cleveland Cavaliers 28-18
6. New York Knicks 25-21
7. Miami Heat 25-21
8. Atlanta Hawks 23-22
9. Indiana Pacers 23-23
10. Chicago Bulls 20-24
11. Toronto Raptors 20-25
12. Washington Wizards 19-26
13. Orlando Magic 16-28
14. Charlotte Hornets 12-34
15. Detroit Pistons 12-35
Western Conference
1. Denver Nuggets 32-13
2. Memphis Grizzlies 31-13
3. Sacramento Kings 25-18
4. New Orleans Pelicans 26-19
5. Dallas Mavericks 24-22
6. Utah Jazz 24-24
7. Golden State Warriors 22-22
8. Oklahoma City Thunder 22-23
9. Los Angeles Clippers 23-24
10. Minnesota Timberwolves 22-24
11. Portland Trail Blazers 21-23
12. Phoenix Suns 21-24
13. Los Angeles Lakers 20-25
14. San Antonio Spurs 14-31
15. Houston Rockets 10-35
-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