By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Denver Nuggets notched fourth straight win, defeating Utah Jazz 110-102, with Nikola Jokic once again leading the way.
The Serbian center finished the game with his second triple-double of the season, scoring 27 points, with 11 assists and 10 rebounds, shooting 12/16 from the field.
He is the only player with 10+ triple-doubles on 75+ FG% over the last 40 seasons.
For Utah, Lauri Markkanen had 27 and 14, with five assist, but it wasn’t enough against the reigning champions.
Dallas Mavericks are also in the winning streak, as they defeated Memphis Grizzlies on the road 110-125, with another European star dominating.
Luka Doncic finished the match with another triple-double, scoring 35 points with 12 rebounds and assists to lead his team to a third straight win at the start of the 2023/24 season.
The Slovenian star is now 3rd player in NBA history with multiple 30-point triple-doubles through the first 3 games of a season. He joins Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 (3) & Russell Westbrook in 2016-17 (2).
Milwaukee Bucks bounced back after a tough loss to Atlanta, winning 122-114 against Miami Heat, team that defeated them in Round 1 of the playoffs last season as the eight seeded.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the match with 33 points and seven assist, while Damian Lillard followed him with 25 points.
The Greek Freak has 107 wins in the last five season, after scoring 30 or more points in the game.
As for the other European players, Nikola Vucevic led Chicago Bulls to a 105-112 win over Indiana Pacers with 24 points and 17 rebounds, while Kristaps Porzingins had 15 points in a 107-126 win over Washington Wizards, with Deni Avdija scoring 11 with seven rebounds for the losing side.
Jakob Poeltl had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in Toronto’s 91-99 loss to Portland, while Franz Wagner had 16 points and eight rebounds in Orlando’s 106-103 loss to LA Lakers.
Rudy Gobert’s double double with 14 points and 13 assists wasn’t enough as Minnesota struggled against Atlanta, as Bogdan Bogdanovic scored eight points in a 127-113 win.
NBA results:
Charlotte – Brooklyn 121-133 (Maledon 2p)
Indiana – Chicago 105-112 (Vucevic 24p, 17r)
Washington – Boston 107-126 (Avdija 11p, 7r, Coulibaliy 9p, 5r, Gallinari 3p – Porzingis 15p, 6r, Mykhailiuk 3p)
Atlanta – Minnesota 127-113 (Bogdanovic 8p, Capela 2p, 5r – Gobert 14p, 13r, Garza 2p)
Toronto – Portland 91-99 (Poeltl 14p, 10r, Anunoby 10p – Camara 3p, 7r)
Memphis – Dallas 110-125 (Doncic 35p, 12r, 12as, Kleber 7p, 5r)
Milwaukee – Miami 122-114 (Antetokounmpo 33p, 7r – Jovic 5p, 4r)
New Orleans – Golden State 102-130 (Valanciunas 11p, 6r – Saric 6p, 10r)
Oklahoma – Detroit 124-112 (Dieng 10p, Bertans 6p – Hayes 10p, 7as)
Denver – Utah 110-102 (Jokic 27p, 10r, 11as – Markkanen 27p, 14r)
LA Lakers – Orlando 106-103 (F. Wagner 16p, 8r, M. Wagner 5p)