By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Becoming the youngest player of the Houston Rockets to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 assists, Alperen Sengun unfortunately succumbed to a narrow loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Crypto.com Arena.
Making a layup, the Turkish center tied the game with four seconds left in the NBA Sundays contest. With 1.9 seconds remaining, LeBron James capped off his season-high 37 points with the game-winning free throw, forcing Sengun and the Rockets to the losing end of the nail-biter.
Sengun, 21, ended up with 23 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and one block over 31 minutes. Serbian teammate Boban Marjanovic did not leave the bench.
Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic fall
The latest dominating performance by Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis produced a 129-113 victory against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. He pushed his side to a sixth straight win by picking 32 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Bulgarian Sasha Vezenkov chipped in seven points, one block, one assist, and one rebound. However, Serbian Filip Petrusev did not play and Alex Len (right ankle sprain) was on the injury list.
Slovenian Luka Doncic registering a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double alongside seven assists and three steals fell into a second consecutive loss and third over the last four outings in the 2023-24 NBA Regular Season. The Mavs mostly trailed but were close until fading away in the fourth quarter. German Maxi Kleber (dislocated right small toe) remains unavailable for the team coached by Jason Kidd.
Earlier in Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Nikola Jokic was limited by foul trouble and the Denver Nuggets lost, 121-109, to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Serbian star scored 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block in 28 minutes. Teammate Vlatko Cancar (left knee surgery) is out. Cavs’ lone European Ricky Rubio (personal) remains away from the team.
More NBA Sundays action and European showings
Brooklyn Nets – Philadelphia 76ers 99-121 (Nicolas Batum 3pts, 3reb, 3ast, Furkan Korkmaz 3pts)
Toronto Raptors – Detroit Pistons 142-113 (Dennis Schroder 17pts, 7ast, 2reb, 1stl, Jakob Poeltl 16pts, 10reb, 4ast, 3blk, 1stl, O.G. Anunoby 9pts, 5reb, 3ast, 2stl – Killian Hayes INJ, Bojan Bogdanovic INJ, Malcolm Cazalon INA)
Indiana Pacers – Orlando Magic 116-128 (Franz Wagner 19pts, 7reb, 2stl, 1ast, Moritz Wagner 16pts, 3reb, 2ast, Goga Bitadze 8pts, 8reb, 4blk, 2ast, Admiral Schofield 0pts)
Memphis Grizzlies – Boston Celtics 100-102 (Santi Aldama 28pts, 12reb, 6ast, 2stl – Kristaps Porzingis 26pts, 8reb, 6blk, 1stl, 1ast, Neemias Queta 2reb, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk DNP)
Utah Jazz – Phoenix Suns 137-140 2OT (Lauri Markkanen 38pts, 17reb, 2stl, 2blk, Simone Fontecchio 3pts, 1reb, 1blk, Luka Samanic DNP, Omer Yurtseven DNP – Jusuf Nurkic 18pts, 12reb, 2ast, 2blk, 1stl)
Portland Trail Blazers – Oklahoma City Thunder 91-134 (Toumani Camara 6pts, 2reb, Rayan Rupert 4pts, 1reb, 1ast, 1stl – Olivier Sarr 6pts, 2reb, Aleksej Pokusevski 5pts, 4ast, 3reb, Davis Bertans 3pts, 2ast, 1blk, Vasilije Micic 1ast, Ousmane Dieng INA)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 11-2
2. Philadelphia 76ers 10-3
3. Milwaukee Bucks 9-4
4. Miami Heat 8-5
5. Orlando Magic 8-5
6. New York Knicks 8-5
7. Indiana Pacers 7-5
8. Cleveland Cavaliers 7-6
9. Atlanta Hawks 6-6
10. Brooklyn Nets 6-7
11. Toronto Raptors 6-7
12. Chicago Bulls 5-9
13. Charlotte Hornets 3-9
14. Washington Wizards 2-10
15. Detroit Pistons 2-12
Western Conference
1. Minnesota Timberwolves 9-3
2. Oklahoma City Thunder 10-4
3. Denver Nuggets 9-4
4. Sacramento Kings 8-4
5. Dallas Mavericks 9-5
6. Los Angeles Lakers 8-6
7. Houston Rockets 6-5
8. Phoenix Suns 7-6
9. New Orleans Pelicans 6-7
10. Golden State Warriors 6-8
11. Los Angeles Clippers 4-7
12. Utah Jazz 4-9
13. Memphis Grizzlies 3-10
14. Portland Trail Blazers 3-10
15. San Antonio Spurs 3-10
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins
Photo Credit: Getty Images