By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Returning from the annual Rodeo Road Trip, the San Antonio Spurs bounced back with a win, 132-118, against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
Besides becoming the first player with at least 25 points, ten rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and five three-pointers in a single NBA game, Victor Wembanyama also starred postgame by leading a ‘Go Spurs Go’ chant across the Frost Bank Center crowd. The French upstart logged 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks, and two steals over 32 minutes. He connected 9/17 field goals, including 5/7 from beyond the arc.
Starting alongside Wemby, Polish Jeremy Sochan posted a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double as the team coached by Gregg Popovich improved to 12-48 in the 2023-24 Regular Season. Turkish Cedi Osman produced three points, three assists, and two steals, but Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili and French Sidy Cissoko did not play.
After helping the Thunder to two comfortable wins against the Spurs earlier in the season, Chet Holmgren settled on the wrong end of the latest edition of the intriguing individual battles with Wembanyama. French teammates Ousmane Dieng and Olivier Sarr were on assignment with the Oklahoma City Blue.
Giannis gets a win in Charlotte
Comfortably completing the sweep of the four-game season series, the Milwaukee Bucks prevailed, 111-99, versus the Charlotte Hornets in Spectrum Center. Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered 24 points, ten rebounds, and five assists over 33 minutes.
The Freak’s brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo stayed on the bench but was called for a technical foul for arguing a non-call in the first quarter. Italian Danilo Gallinari had two points, one assist, and one rebound.
On the losing end, Latvian Davis Bertans produced eight points and Serbian Vasilije Micic recorded two points, seven assists, and one rebound. Serbian newcomer Aleksej Pokusevski did not play.
Jamal Murray suffers injury
In a rematch of the 2023 NBA Finals, Nikola Jokic helped the Denver Nuggets defeat the Miami Heat, 103-97, in Ball Arena. Shy of a fifth consecutive triple-double, the Serbian superstar tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Sidekick Jamal Murray left the game with a sprained right ankle. Slovenian Vlatko Cancar (left knee surgery) remained on the injury list.
Starting for the team coached by Erik Spoelstra, Serbian Nikola Jovic went for seven points, six rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
More European showings
Orlando Magic – Utah Jazz 115-107 (Moritz Wagner 14pts, 10reb, 1ast, 1stl, Franz Wagner 14pts, 6ast, 3reb, 2stl, 2blk, Goga Bitadze DNP, Admiral Schofield DNP – Lauri Markkanen 18pts, 3reb, 1stl, Luka Samanic 8pts, 4reb, Omer Yurtseven DNP)
Brooklyn Nets – Atlanta Hawks 124-97 (Dennis Schroder 23pts, 8reb, 7ast – Bogdan Bogdanovic 11pts, 3reb, 3ast, Clint Capela 7pts, 6reb, 4blk, 1ast, Vit Krejci INA)
New York Knicks – Golden State Warriors 99-110 (Isaiah Hartenstein 6pts, 6reb, 2ast, 1stl, Bojan Bogdanovic 4pts, 3reb, 1ast, O.G. Anunoby INJ – Dario Saric 3reb, 3ast, Usman Garuba INA)
Phoenix Suns – Houston Rockets 110-105 (Jusuf Nurkic 16pts, 13reb, 3blk, 2ast, 1stl, Theo Maledon DNP – Alperen Sengun 8pts, 4ast, 3reb, Boban Marjanovic DNP)
Los Angeles Lakers – Washington Wizards 134-131 (Deni Avdija 15pts, 15reb, 5ast, 1stl, Bilal Coulibaly INJ)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 46-12
2. Cleveland Cavaliers 38-20
3. Milwaukee Bucks 39-21
4. New York Knicks 35-25
5. Philadelphia 76ers 33-25
6. Orlando Magic 34-26
7. Indiana Pacers 34-26
8. Miami Heat 33-26
9. Chicago Bulls 28-31
10. Atlanta Hawks 26-33
11. Brooklyn Nets 23-36
12. Toronto Raptors 22-37
13. Charlotte Hornets 15-44
14. Detroit Pistons 9-49
15. Washington Wizards 9-50
Western Conference
1. Minnesota Timberwolves 42-17
2. Oklahoma City Thunder 41-18
3. Denver Nuggets 41-19
4. Los Angeles Clippers 37-20
5. Phoenix Suns 35-24
6. New Orleans Pelicans 35-25
7. Dallas Mavericks 34-25
8. Sacramento Kings 33-25
9. Los Angeles Lakers 33-28
10. Golden State Warriors 31-27
11. Utah Jazz 27-33
12. Houston Rockets 25-34
13. Memphis Grizzlies 20-39
14. Portland Trail Blazers 15-42
15. San Antonio Spurs 12-48
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins
Photo Credit: Getty Images