By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Oklahoma City Thunder are not ready to give up on a chance to compete for a spot in the Playoffs through the Play-Ins. Banking in a 102-90 win against the San Antonio Spurs proved as much Sunday.
Ousmane Dieng reset his individual high in the NBA at 17 points, The 19-year-old French swingman, selected 11th overall in the 2022 draft, made 7/15 field goals and grabbed eight rebounds over 28 minutes. Another European reserve, Croatian Dario Saric went for ten points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 18 minutes. In rehab from a left leg fracture, Serbian Aleksej Pokusevski stayed on the injury list.
Coming off the bench for the team coached by Gregg Popovich that has already been eliminated from postseason contention, Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili struggled with 1/6 from the field in a six-point effort paired with seven rebounds and one block over 17 minutes. Polish Jeremy Sochan dealing with right soreness was ruled out for the NBA Sundays contest but moving forward is considered day-to-day.
Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas boosted the New Orleans Pelicans with an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double to go with two blocks and two assists in the win, 127-110, versus the Portland Trail Blazers in Smoothie King Center. Spanish Willy Hernangomez added three points, one assist, and one rebound. On the losing end, Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic was held to two rebounds and one steal in ten minutes.
German Dennis Schroder logged 14 points, one steal, one assist, and one rebound for the Los Angeles Lakers in the narrow loss, 112-108, to the New York Knicks in crypto.com Arena. German Isaiah Hartenstein did not score but registered 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in 24 minutes for the visitors.
In the NBA Sundays opener, Serbian Nikola Jokic fired in 35 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists, two blocks, and two steals but the Denver Nuggets fell to the Brooklyn Nets, 122-120, in Ball Arena. Lasting six minutes, Slovenian Vlatko Cancar put one rebound on his stat line.
More NBA Sundays and European showings
Charlotte Hornets – Cleveland Cavaliers 108-114 (Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 9pts – Ricky Rubio 11pts, Cedi Osman 3pts)
Philadelphia 76ers – Washington Wizards 112-93 (Furkan Korkmaz 2pts – Kristaps Porzingis 9pts, Deni Avdija 4pts)
2022-23 STANDINGS
EAST
| TEAM | W | L | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MILWAUKEE | 48 | 19 | |
| 47 | 21 | ||
| 45 | 22 | ||
| 43 | 27 | ||
| 39 | 29 | ||
| NEW YORK | 40 | 30 | |
| MIAMI | 36 | 33 | |
| ATLANTA | 34 | 34 | |
| 32 | 36 | ||
| 31 | 36 | ||
| 31 | 37 | ||
| 31 | 37 | ||
| ORLANDO | 28 | 40 | |
| CHARLOTTE | 22 | 48 | |
| DETROIT | 15 | 53 |
WEST
| TEAM | W | L | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DENVER | 46 | 22 | |
| SACRAMENTO | 40 | 26 | |
| 3 MEMPHIS | 40 | 26 | |
| 37 | 30 | 7-3 | |
| 36 | 33 | ||
| 35 | 33 | ||
| 34 | 34 | ||
| 34 | 34 | 3-7 | |
| 9 UTAH | 33 | 35 | 5-5 |
| 33 | 35 | ||
| 33 | 35 | ||
| 33 | 35 | ||
| 31 | 37 | ||
| 17 | 50 | ||
| 15 | 52 |
e-eliminated from Playoffs
-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