By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Victor Wembanyama tried his best in the fourth quarter, but he was on the losing end in his NBA debut Wednesday night.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving each hit clutch late 3-pointers for the Dallas Mavericks as they held on for a 126-119 win over Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
“As I said before, we’re learning. It’s only our first regular-season game together,” Wembanyama said. “We’re going to watch film, and maybe this happened; but if we notice it on the film, the coaches and ourselves, the players, will [do] whatever it takes to get better.”
The French phenomenon played only 15 minutes due to foul trouble in the first three quarters and picked up his fifth foul 26 seconds into the fourth quarter. He returned with 7:12 to play and with a three and a dunk he gave to the Spurs a 113-112 but Doncic had the final word.
The Slovenian had 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead Dallas to the win. German big man Maxi Kleber added six points and seven rebounds for the winning side.
Wembanyama finished with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block on 6-of-9 shooting in 23 minutes. Polish forward Jeremy Sochan had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Turk Cedi Osman had 12 points off the bench.
Luka Doncic became the first Maverick in franchise history to record a triple-double in their season opener and the third player to start the season this way after Giannis Antetokounmpo and Oscar Robertson.
In New York, Krisaps Porzingis finished the night with 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots — including scoring nine straight points to put Boston ahead for good late in the fourth quarter — to lead the Celtics to a 108-104 victory over his former team, the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
It was the best possible start with the Celtics for Porzingis, as he set a franchise record for most points in a debut with Boston, surpassing Dominique Wilkins’ 25 in 1994.
The Kings beat Utah 130-114 with Lithuanian big man Domantas Sabonis having 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Bulgarian Sasha Vezenkov came off the bench for 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals in his NBA debut, against a double-double by Lauri Markkanen (19 points, 10 rebounds).
Serb coach Darko Rajakovic got his first win in Toronto, as the Raptors beat Minessota 97-94 with German Dennis Schroder scoring 22 points and British OG Anunoby adding 20.
Serb Vasilije Micic and Latvian Davis Bertans didn’t play in the 124-104 win of the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Chicago Bulls.
Here are the latest results and the European scorers.
NBA results (25/10)
San Antonio – Dallas 119-126 (Wembanyama 15 p. 5 r. Sochan 13 p. 8 r. 5 as. Osman 12 p. 2 as. – Doncic 33 p. 13 r. 10 as. Kleber 6 p. 7 r.)
LA Clippers – Portland 123-111 (Zubac 20 p. 12 r. 4 bl. Batum 3 r. – Camara 7 p. 2 r.)
Sacramento – Utah 130-114 (Sabonis 22 p. 15 r. 4 as. Vezenkov 8 p. 2 r. 2 st. – Markkanen 19 p. 10 r. Fontecchio 2 p. Samanic 2 p. Yurtseven 1 r.)
Memphis – New Orleans 104-111 (Valanciunas 12 p. 12 r.)
Chicago – Oklahoma City 104-124 (Vucevic 11 p. 9 r. 4 as. – Pokusevski 2 r. Sarr 4 p. 4 r.)
Toronto – Minessota 97-94 (Schroder 22 p. 7 r. Poelt 7 p. 11 r. Anunobi 20 p. 6 r. – Gobert 15 p. 13 r.)
Miami – Detroit 103-102 (Hayes 10 p. 3 as.)
New York – Boston 104-108 (Hartenstein 7 p. 8 r. – Porzingis 30 p. 8 r. 4 bl.)
Orlando – Houston 116-88 (F.Wagner 19 p. 4 r. M.Wagner 2 p. 4 r. Bitadze 7 p. 3 r. – Sengun 14 p. 8 r. 6 as.)
Indiana – Washington 143-120 (Gallinari 16 p. 3 r. Avdija 9 p. 7 r. 5 as. Coulibaly 3 p. 4 r. 3 as.)
Charlotte – Atlanta 116-110 (Maledon 4 p. 3 r. 4 as. – Capela 15 p. 13 r. Bogdanovic 7 p. 4 r. 4 as.)
Brooklyn – Cleveland 113-114