By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The latest glimpse into the future featured Victor Wembanyama posting a triple-double, the first in his career.
The French prodigy guided the San Antonio Spurs to the win, 130-108, against the Detroit Pistons in Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday. His side went up to 6-30 and pushed the opponents to an NBA-low 3-35 in the Regular Season.
Wemby recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in 21 minutes, making 6/16 from the field. Polish Jeremy Sochan added 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Turkish Cedi Osman produced 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili did not get on the board and French Sidy Cissoko (left ankle sprain) was out.
For the Pistons, Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic ended up with 19 points behind 8/13 field goals, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. French Killian Hayes registered four points, 12 assists, and four rebounds. French Malcolm Cazalon was on assignment with the Motor City Cruise.
Markkanen, Sabonis, and more
In Delta Center, the Utah Jazz prevailed, 124-111, over the Denver Nuggets. Finnish Lauri Markkanen posted a 26-point, 12-rebound double-double plus two assists and one block. Italian Simone Fontecchio had three points and two assists, Turkish Omer Yurtseven threw in two points and two rebounds, and Croatian Luka Samanic added one point and one assist. On the opposite end, Serbian star Nikola Jokic ended up with 27 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and one steal, and Slovenian Vlatko Cancar (left knee surgery) remained sidelined.
Adding a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double to a brilliant campaign, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis pushed the Sacramento Kings to the win, 123-98, versus the Charlotte Hornets in Spectrum Center. He also tallied seven assists and one block over 28 minutes. Ukrainian Alex Len chipped in eight points, ten rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block, but Bulgarian Sasha Vezenkov did not play. For the hosts. French Frank Ntilikina (left tibia non-displaced fracture) stayed on the injury list.
More games and European showings
Boston Celtics – Minnesota Timberwolves 127-120 OT (Neemias Queta DNP, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk DNP, Kristaps Porzingis INJ – Luka Garza DNP, Rudy Gobert INJ)
Indiana Pacers – Washington Wizards 112-104 (Deni Avdija 15pts, 5reb, 1ast, 1stl, Bilal Coulibaly 5pts, 6reb, 1ast, 1blk, Danilo Gallinari DNP)
Atlanta Hawks – Philadelphia 76ers 139-132 OT (Bogdan Bogdanovic 15pts, 4ast, 2reb, 2stl, Clint Capela INJ, Vit Krejci INJ – Nicolas Batum 6pts, 4reb, 3blk, 2ast, Furkan Korkmaz DNP)
Miami Heat – Oklahoma City Thunder 120-128 (Nikola Jovic 15pts, 5reb, 4ast, 1stl, 1blk – Vasilije Micic 3pts, 5ast, 1reb, 1stl, Aleksej Pokusevski DNP, Davis Bertans ILL, Olivier Sarr ILL, Ousmane Dieng INA)
Chicago Bulls – Houston Rockets 124-119 OT (Nikola Vucevic 18pts, 15reb, 3ast, 1blk, Onuralp Bitim INA – Alperen Sengun 25pts, 9reb, 5ast, 2stl, Boban Marjanovic DNP)
Golden State Warriors – New Orleans Pelicans 105-141 (Dario Saric 4pts, 3reb, 3ast, 1stl, Usman Garuba INA – Jonas Valanciunas 21pts, 9reb, 2ast, 2stl, 1blk)
Los Angeles Clippers – Toronto Raptors 126-120 (Ivica Zubac 12pts, 11reb, 3ast, 1blk, Daniel Theis 4pts, 4reb, 1ast, 1stl, 1blk, Moussa Diabate INJ – Dennis Schroder 22pts, 4ast, 1reb, Jakob Poeltl INJ)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 29-8
2. Milwaukee Bucks 25-12
3. Philadelphia 76ers 23-13
4. Indiana Pacers 22-15
5. New York Knicks 22-15
6. Cleveland Cavaliers 21-15
7. Miami Heat 21-16
8. Orlando Magic 21-16
9. Chicago Bulls 18-21
10. Brooklyn Nets 16-21
11. Atlanta Hawks 15-21
12. Toronto Raptors 15-23
13. Charlotte Hornets 8-27
14. Washington Wizards 6-31
15. Detroit Pistons 3-35
Western Conference
1. Minnesota Timberwolves 26-11
2. Oklahoma City Thunder 25-11
3. Denver Nuggets 26-13
4. Los Angeles Clippers 24-13
5. Sacramento Kings 23-14
6. New Orleans Pelicans 23-15
7. Dallas Mavericks 22-16
8. Phoenix Suns 19-18
9. Los Angeles Lakers 19-19
10. Houston Rockets 18-18
11. Utah Jazz 19-20
12. Golden State Warriors 17-20
13. Memphis Grizzlies 14-23
14. Portland Trail Blazers 10-26
15. San Antonio Spurs 6-30
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins
Photo Credit: Getty Images