By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
After scoring 40 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in a victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Giannis Antetokounpo continued his stellar performance in a highly efficient 142-129 win against the Washington Wizards in D.C.
The Greek international recorded 42 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists on 20-23 shooting in less than 34 minutes of play. He is the only player with multiple 40/10/5 games on an 85+ field goal percentage in over 40 seasons.
“I wish it was easy,” he said. “I wish I could come in and score 42 every game, but it’s hard. You’ve got to work extremely hard to get comfortable, to get in your rhythm, to get to your spot, to playmake for yourself, to playmake for your teammates. It’s hard.”
With his 87% field goal accuracy, Giannis also reached the highest mark in a game by a player with at least 20 attempts since Mike Woodson’s 48 points on 22/24 shooting for the Kansas City Kings in 1983.
“Unstoppable,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “He literally is unstoppable.”
While Giannis found his rhythm, the other two-time European MVP didn’t have his best night. Nikola Jokic got ejected in the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons after receiving a second technical foul for protesting to referees. Coach Mike Malone also got ejected for arguing calls.
“I think Nikola was worried about my welfare,” Malone joked. “It is tough to watch a game on TV – we were hugging on good plays, and I was cursing in Serbian on the bad ones.”
However, he still managed to have an all-around performance with nine points, five rebounds, and assists, while the Denver Nuggets prevailed on the road, recording a 107-103 win.
Lithuanian centers Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis clashed in a convincing 129-93 win for the New Orleans Pelicans over the Sacramento Kings.
Both had solid all-around games, with Valanciunas recording 10 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, while Sabonis was even closer to a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
It’s worth mentioning that Filip Petrusev played for six and a half minutes in a Sacramento jersey, scoring three points.
Alperen Sengun had a Yao Ming-like game with 30 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a 121-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors, with Croatian Dario Saric scoring 18 points for the winning side.
Houston Rockets‘ talented star became the first franchise player to have those kinds of numbers on 50% shooting since the famous Chinese center.
His teammate from the Turkish national team, Cedi Osman, had 17 points and five rebounds in a 124-99 San Antonio Spurs loss to the LA Clippers. Victor Wembanyama fell short of expectations with nine points, four assists, and three rebounds in 26 and a half minutes. Jeremy Sochan added eight points and rebounds as the Spurs suffered their ninth straight loss.
On the other side, Daniel Thies is already shining, with the 2023 FIBA World Cup champion scoring 19 points with seven rebounds in only his second match with the Clippers. Ivica Zubac added eight points with 11 rebounds as the European big men duo are starting to take shape in Los Angeles.
Two more European players had notable performances, with Rudy Gobert scoring 16 points with seven rebounds in a 117-100 win over the New York Knicks, while Kristaps Porzingis had 17 points and eight rebounds in the Boston Celtics‘ surprising overtime 121-118 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
NBA Results:
Charlotte – Boston 121-118 OT (Porzingis 17p, 8r, Mykhailiuk)
Detroit – Denver 103-107 (Hayes 2a – Jokic 9p, 5r, 5as)
Washington – Milwaukee 129-142 (Coulibaly 12p, Avdija 7p, Gallinari 4p – G. Antetokounmpo 42p, 13r)
Chicago – Miami 100-118 (Vucevic 18p, 8r)
Minnesota – New York 117-100 (Gobert 16p, 7r – Hartensten 2p, 4r)
New Orleans – Sacramento 129-93 (Valanciunas 10p, 13r, 7as – Sabonis 10p, 10r, 9as, Petrusev 3p)
San Antonio – LA Clippers 99-124 (Osman 22p, 10r, Wembanyama 9p – Theis 19p, 7r, Zubac 8p, 11r, Diabate 3p)
Golden State – Houston 121-116 (Saric 18p, 5r – Sengun 30p, 13r, 5as)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 11-3
2. Philadelphia 76ers 10-3
3. Milwaukee Bucks 10-4
4. Miami Heat 9-5
5. Orlando Magic 8-5
6. Indiana Pacers 7-5
7. New York Knicks 8-6
8. Cleveland Cavaliers 7-6
9. Atlanta Hawks 6-6
10. Brooklyn Nets 6-7
11. Toronto Raptors 6-7
12. Chicago Bulls 5-10
13. Charlotte Hornets 4-9
14. Washington Wizards 2-11
15. Detroit Pistons 2-13
Western Conference
1. Minnesota Timberwolves 10-3
2. Denver Nuggets 10-4
3. Oklahoma City Thunder 10-4
4. Dallas Mavericks 9-5
5. Sacramento Kings 8-5
6. Los Angeles Lakers 8-6
7. Phoenix Suns 7-6
8. Houston Rockets 6-6
9. New Orleans Pelicans 7-7
10. Golden State Warriors 7-8
11. Los Angeles Clippers 5-7
12. Utah Jazz 4-9
13. Memphis Grizzlies 3-10
14. Portland Trail Blazers 3-10
15. San Antonio Spurs 3-11