By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Fueling the seventh win in a row for the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists on the latest edition of NBA Saturdays. The Freak also chipped in one steal and one block as his side took down the Miami Heat, 123-115, at Fiserv Forum. In a quick turnaround from scoring 54 points in the narrow win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the two-time MVP enjoyed his third triple-double of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season and 32nd of his career Saturday evening.
Serbian superstar Nikola Jokic shaped a triple-double of his own with 14 points, 18 rebounds, and ten assists to go with two blocks and one steal as the Denver Nuggets rolled the Atlanta Hawks, 128-108, on Ball Arena. Slovenian Vlatko Cancar had five points, three assists, one rebound, and one steal. On the losing end, Swiss Clint Capela posted a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double, Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic went for eight points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists, and one block, and Czech Vit Krejci recorded one rebound.
Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas was forced to an early exit with a right knee injury after logging an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double and helping the New Orleans Pelicans on the way to the win, 131-126, against the Los Angeles Lakers. German Dennis Schroder tallied seven points, ten assists, two rebounds, and one steal for the losing side at Smoothie King Center.
Another injury was Stephen Curry hurting his left leg but the Golden State Warriors produced the win, 119-113, against the Dallas Mavericks in Chase Center. The visitors missed Slovenian Luka Doncic (right heel), German Maxi Kleber (right hamstring), and Latvian Davis Bertans (left calf), while French Frank Ntilikina was limited to two fruitless minutes.
At Barclays Center, Latvian Kristaps Porzingis scored 38 points and Israeli Deni Avdija finished with 23 points but the Washington Wizards fell to the Brooklyn Nets, 125-123.
More NBA Saturdays action and European showings
Detroit Pistons – Phoenix Suns 100-116 (Bojan Bogdanovic 23pts, Killian Hayes 4pts, 3ast – Dario Saric 6pts, 3ast, 2reb)
New York Knicks – Los Angeles Clippers 128-134 OT (Isaiah Hartenstein 5pts, 11reb, 4ast, 2blk – Nicolas Batum 10pts, 3ast, 2reb, 2blk, Ivica Zubac 2pts, 13reb)
Chicago Bulls – Portland Trail Blazers 129-121 (Nikola Vucevic 23pts, 11reb, 4ast, Goran Dragic 5pts, 7ast)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Houston Rockets 153-121 (Ousmane Dieng 9pts, 4reb, 3ast – Alperen Sengun 10pts, 4reb, Usman Garuba 10pts, 4reb, Boban Marjanovic 2pts)
2022-23 STANDINGS
EAST
1. Boston Celtics 37-16
2. Milwaukee Bucks 36-17
3. Philadelphia 76ers 34-17
4. Brooklyn Nets 32-20
5. Cleveland Cavaliers 32-22
6. Miami Heat 29-25
7. New York Knicks 28-26
8. Atlanta Hawks 27-27
9. Chicago Bulls 25-27
10. Indiana Pacers 25-29
11. Washington Wizards 24-28
12. Toronto Raptors 24-30
13. Orlando Magic 21-32
14. Charlotte Hornets 15-39
15. Detroit Pistons 14-40
WEST
1. Denver Nuggets 37-16
2. Memphis Grizzlies 32-20
3. Sacramento Kings 29-22
4. Los Angeles Clippers 30-26
5. Phoenix Suns 29-26
6. Dallas Mavericks 28-26
7. Golden State Warriors 27-26
8. Minnesota Timberwolves 28-27
9. Utah Jazz 27-27
10. New Orleans Pelicans 27-27
11. Portland Trail Blazers 26-27
12. Oklahoma City Thunder 25-27
13. Los Angeles Lakers 25-29
14. San Antonio Spurs 14-39
15. Houston Rockets 13-40
-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