Lauri Markkanen’s Utah Jazz pulled the upset over the Milwaukee Bucks

By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net

Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo giving his all by almost recording a triple-double of 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists, the Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t escape from Utah with a win, losing 123-108 to the Jazz.

Lauri Markkanen was a huge factor in his team’s victory – which came especially thanks to a 40-13 run in the fourth quarter over Milwaukee -, with 21 points coming off 5/10 from beyond the arc. Starting next to him, Simone Fontecchio contributed with 11 points and 4 rebounds.

The King in the North showed his satisfaction. “We were getting stops so it kind of feeds into the offense. You always look at offense and defense separately, but they really go hand in hand. You get stops, you get out and run and then you get good shots”, he commented after the win.

The Greek Freak, instead, thought they passed on too many opportunities. “I don’t think it was the energy, I think we need to make shots. It was a lot of wide-open shots that we didn’t make. You make one or two, the momentum stops and it’s a whole different game”, he shared in the post-game press conference.

Losing by 14 points (122-108) with 35 seconds left on the shot clock, Giannis Antetokounmpo walked out of the court, exiting the Delta Center in Utah earlier than expected by showing clear frustration over his team’s sloppy performance.

Another European clash at the rim came with Minnesota getting the upper hand over Houston, with Rudy Gobert going home with a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds; on the losing side, Alperen Sengun also had a double-double, ending with 15 points and 10 rebounds in his team’s defeat.

It doesn’t surprise anybody anymore, but Nikola Jokic had another precious winning night as leader of the Denver Nuggets, comfortably beating Portland 112-103 coming back from a first-quarter deficit. The Serbian back-to-back MVP had 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists to push his team.

Destroying Memphis by 40 points at home (131-91), the Boston Celtics counted on another Kristaps Porzingis’ huge performance of 26 points and 8 rebounds to take down the Grizzlies. Off the bench, Neemias Queta (8 points and 8 rebounds) and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (6 points) gave the right boost.

Finally, Darko Rajakovic’s Toronto Raptors had a losing route to Oklahoma City, losing in two overtimes against the Thunder despite some pretty good showings from both Dennis Schroder – who had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench – and Jacob Poeltl – who powered 19 points and 12 boards.

NBA Results and other European performances

Boston Celtics – Memphis Grizzlies 131-91
Charlotte Hornets – Indiana Pacers 99-115
Miami Heat – Los Angeles Clippers 95-103 (Zubac 4 p, 3 r)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Houston Rockets 111-90 (Garza 5 p)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Toronto Raptors 135-127 2OT (Micic 3 p, 5 a)
Utah Jazz – Milwaukee Bucks 123-108
Denver Nuggets – Portland Trail Blazers 112-103

Standings (via NBA.com)