Giannis wins the battle of players of the week, good night for European centers

By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net

NBA proclaimed Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard as best in their respective conferences last week. Last night, they met in Oregon, with the Greek Freak’s Milwaukee Bucks taking a 127-108 win against Portland Trail Blazers.

Led by two-time MVP, who almost got a triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists, the Bucks controlled the game from beginning until the end and recorded a convincing victory, eight in a row for the Wisconsin team.

Jusuf Nurkic was unavailable for Portland because of a left calf strain, and the Blazers struggled against the bigger Bucks.

Detroit Pistons lost to Boston Celtics 99-111, even with good games from Bojan Bogdanovic and Killian Hayes.

The Croatian led the losing side with 21 points, while the young Frenchman had 17 points and nine assists.

Kristaps Porzingis led the scoring charts for Washington Wizards with 18 points, but they lost to Cleveland Cavaliers 91-114.

Deni Avdija followed him with 12 points, while Cedi Osman scored three points with three assists for the winning side.

Los Angeles Clippers won on the road against Brooklyn Nets 124-116, with Ivica Zubac recording a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Nicolas Batum added nine points and 11 rebounds for the winning side, while the Nets, who played without Kevin Durant in the first game since the Kyrie Irving trade was made official, were led by a career-high Cam Thomas’s 47 points.

Nikola Vucevic led Chicago Bulls to a 128-104 win against San Antonio Spurs with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Goran Dragic added four points and three rebounds with two assists for the winning side, while Austrian center Jakob Poltl added 14 points and nine assists.

Sacramento Kings recorded their 12th 130+ victory of the season, with a 140-120 win over Houston Rockets.

As usual, Domantas Sabonis was among the best in the California team, as the Lithuanian big man flirted with a triple-double with 17 points, ten assists, and seven rebounds.

Alperen Sengun had a solid game for the losing side with 15 points, seven assists and rebounds.

Without Luka Doncic, but also Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney Smith, who got traded to Brooklyn for Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks defeated Utah Jazz 124-111.

Australian Josh Green led the way with 29 points, with the Frenchman Frank Ntilikina adding three assists and two rebounds.

Lauri Markkanen scored 19 with seven rebounds for the Salt Lake City team.

Golden State Warriors crushed Oklahoma City Thunder 141-114, as Klay Thompson scored 42 points with 12 three-pointers.

NBA results:
Detroit Pistons – Boston Celtics 99-111 (Bogdanovic 21p, Hayes 17p, 9as)
Washington Wizards – Cleveland Cavaliers 91-114 (Porzingis 18p, Avdija 12p – Osman 3p)
Brooklyn Nets – LA Clippers 116-124 (Zubac 19p, 12r, Batum 9p, 11r)
Chicago Bulls – San Antonio Spurs 128-104 (Vucevic 22p, 12r, Dragic 4p – Poltl 14p, 9r)
Houston Rockets – Sacramento Kings 120-140 (Sengun 15p, 7r, 7as, Garuba 3p – Sabonis 17p, 10as)
Utah Jazz – Dallas Mavericks 111-124 (Markkanen 19p – Ntilikina 2r, 3as)
Golden State Warriors – Oklahoma City Thunder 141-114
Portland Trail Blazers – Milwaukee Bucks 108-127 (Giannis 24p, 13r, 8as, Mamukelashvili 2p)

2022-23 STANDINGS

EAST

TEAM	W	L	LAST 10
1 BOSTON	38	16	6-4
2 MILWAUKEE	37	17	9-1
3 PHILADELPHIA	34	18	8-2
4 CLEVELAND	34	22	6-4
5 BROOKLYN	32	21	5-5
6 MIAMI	29	25	5-5
7 NEW YORK	29	26	4-6
8 ATLANTA	27	27	5-5
9 CHICAGO	26	27	7-3
10 INDIANA	25	30	2-8
11 TORONTO	25	30	5-5
12 WASHINGTON	24	29	6-4
13 ORLANDO	22	32	6-4
14 CHARLOTTE	15	40	4-6
15 DETROIT	14	41	2-8

WEST

TEAM	W	L	LAST 10
1 DENVER	37	17	6-4
2 MEMPHIS	32	21	2-8
3 SACRAMENTO	30	23	5-5
4 LA CLIPPERS	31	26	8-2
5 DALLAS	29	26	5-5
6 PHOENIX	29	26	8-2
7 GOLDEN STATE	28	26	6-4
8 MINNESOTA	29	27	7-3
9 NEW ORLEANS	28	27	2-8
10 UTAH	27	28	5-5
11 PORTLAND	26	28	5-5
12 OKLAHOMA CITY	25	28	5-5
13 LA LAKERS	25	29	5-5
14 SAN ANTONIO	14	40	1-9
15 HOUSTON	13	41	3-7