By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic didn’t have the best of games in the loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and his reaction was fierce.
After scoring 35 points with 16 rebounds in a road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, he dominated in a 113-100 home victory against the New York Knicks.
The Serbian center finished the match with his 127th regular-season triple-double, notching 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, all with just one turnover.
Nikola is dominating the league again this season, and the reigning champs are pushing strongly for first place in the Western Conference standings. They have a 13-2 record since the All-Star break and 49-21 overall.
For almost every brilliant performance from Jokic, there’s one from Luka Doncic, too. The Slovenian star led the Dallas Mavericks to a 113-97 win, this time without a triple-double.
However, Luka still scored 34 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double, in addition to dishing out eight assists. On the other hand, Lauri Markkanen scored 21 points for the Jazz, with Omer Yurtseven scoring 10.
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the court after some hamstring issues and scored 21 points with nine rebounds in a 115-108 Milwaukee Bucks win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Greek Freak played almost 35 minutes and shot 9/19 from the field while giving his teammates five assists.
Orlando Magic continues climbing the Eastern Conference ladder, taking down the New Orleans Pelicans 121-106. Paolo Banchero has become the first Magic player since Elfrid Payton with multiple triple-doubles in a season.
The player with Italian roots recorded 20 points, 11 assists, and ten rebounds, with the Wagner brothers also contributing: Franz with 18 and Moritz with 14 points. Jonas Valanciunas had six points and five boards for the losing side.
In a rare Washington Wizards 109-102 win over the Sacramento Kings, Deni Avdija had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Domantas Sabonis recorded another double-double with 14 points and rebounds for the losing side. Sasha Vezenkov has yet to return to court for the Californian team.
The red-hot Houston Rockets defeated the Chicago Bulls 127-117 despite Nikola Vucevic logging a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns grabbed a 128-115 win over the Atlanta Hawks, with a couple of European players making an impact.
Jusuf Nurkic had seven points and ten rebounds for the winning side, while Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 16 points, Clint Capela recorded 13 points and ten rebounds, and Vit Krejci added nine points for the Hawks.
NBA results:
Orlando Magic – New Orleans Pelicans 121-106 (Banchero 20p, 10r, 11as, F. Wagner 18p, M. Wagner 14p, Bitadze 4p – Valanciunas 6p, 5r)
Washington Wizards – Sacramento Kings 109-102 (Avdija 17p, 9r – Sabonis 14p, 14r, Len 2p)
Houston Rockets – Chicago Bulls 127-117 (Vucevic 16p, 14r, 6as)
Milwaukee Bucks – Brooklyn Nets 115-108 (Giannis 21p, 9r – Schroder 5p, 9as)
Dallas Mavericks – Utah Jazz 113-97 (Doncic 34p, 9r, 8as, Kleber 7p – Markkanen 21p, Yurtseven 10p, 5r)
Denver Nuggets – New York Knicks 113-100 (Jokic 30p, 14r, 11as – Hartenstein 20p, 8r, Bogdanovic 3p)
Phoenix Suns – Atlanta Hawks 128-115 (Nurkic 7p, 10r – Bogdanovic 16p, Capela 13p, 10r, Krejci 9p)
Eastern Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Boston Celtics– a | 55 | 14 | .797 | — | 36-7 | 15-1 | 32-3 | 23-11 | 2-3 | 8-2 | W 7 |
| 2 Milwaukee Bucks– ps | 45 | 25 | .643 | 10.5 | 31-14 | 10-7 | 28-7 | 17-18 | 2-1 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| 3 Cleveland Cavaliers– ps | 43 | 26 | .623 | 12 | 28-18 | 10-5 | 22-14 | 21-12 | 3-1 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| 4 Orlando Magic– ps | 42 | 28 | .600 | 13.5 | 30-17 | 9-6 | 25-9 | 17-19 | 2-1 | 8-2 | W 5 |
| 5 New York Knicks– ps | 41 | 28 | .594 | 14 | 27-15 | 8-5 | 22-13 | 19-15 | 0-0 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| 6 Indiana Pacers | 39 | 31 | .557 | 16.5 | 28-17 | 11-4 | 21-15 | 18-16 | 0-1 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| 7 Miami Heat | 38 | 31 | .551 | 17 | 26-18 | 11-3 | 17-15 | 21-16 | 1-0 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| 8 Philadelphia 76ers | 38 | 31 | .551 | 17 | 26-20 | 6-8 | 21-15 | 17-16 | 0-2 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| 9 Chicago Bulls | 34 | 36 | .486 | 21.5 | 18-22 | 5-9 | 18-17 | 16-19 | 7-3 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| 10 Atlanta Hawks | 30 | 39 | .435 | 25 | 17-26 | 7-6 | 16-17 | 14-22 | 3-1 | 4-6 | L 2 |
| 11 Brooklyn Nets | 26 | 44 | .371 | 29.5 | 18-24 | 3-8 | 16-19 | 10-25 | 0-4 | 2-8 | L 5 |
| 12 Toronto Raptors | 23 | 46 | .333 | 32 | 16-26 | 1-11 | 13-21 | 10-25 | 1-3 | 1-9 | L 8 |
| 13 Charlotte Hornets | 17 | 52 | .246 | 38 | 10-34 | 4-9 | 9-24 | 8-28 | 1-1 | 2-8 | L 3 |
| 14 Detroit Pistons– o | 12 | 57 | .174 | 43 | 9-35 | 2-13 | 7-29 | 5-28 | 1-2 | 3-7 | L 4 |
| 15 Washington Wizards– o | 12 | 58 | .171 | 43.5 | 8-35 | 4-11 | 5-28 | 7-30 | 0-1 | 3-7 | W 1 |
Western Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oklahoma City Thunder– ps | 48 | 20 | .706 | — | 31-15 | 12-4 | 28-7 | 20-13 | 3-0 | 7-3 | W 3 |
| 2 Denver Nuggets– ps | 49 | 21 | .700 | — | 27-15 | 7-5 | 28-6 | 21-15 | 0-1 | 8-2 | W 2 |
| 3 Minnesota Timberwolves | 47 | 22 | .681 | 1.5 | 33-12 | 11-3 | 23-9 | 24-13 | 1-4 | 5-5 | L 1 |
| 4 LA Clippers | 43 | 25 | .632 | 5 | 26-18 | 8-5 | 22-11 | 21-14 | 0-1 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| 5 New Orleans Pelicans | 42 | 27 | .609 | 6.5 | 26-18 | 9-6 | 20-13 | 22-14 | 0-1 | 7-3 | L 1 |
| 6 Dallas Mavericks | 41 | 29 | .586 | 8 | 25-19 | 9-5 | 22-15 | 19-14 | 0-0 | 7-3 | W 3 |
| 7 Phoenix Suns | 41 | 29 | .586 | 8 | 22-19 | 7-8 | 23-14 | 18-15 | 3-0 | 6-4 | W 2 |
| 8 Sacramento Kings | 40 | 29 | .580 | 8.5 | 27-17 | 9-6 | 20-13 | 20-16 | 5-1 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| 9 Los Angeles Lakers | 37 | 32 | .536 | 11.5 | 24-23 | 7-9 | 25-12 | 12-20 | 3-1 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| 10 Golden State Warriors | 36 | 32 | .529 | 12 | 19-23 | 6-9 | 18-18 | 18-14 | 1-4 | 5-5 | W 1 |
| 11 Houston Rockets | 34 | 35 | .493 | 14.5 | 22-19 | 9-5 | 24-11 | 10-24 | 1-4 | 9-1 | W 7 |
| 12 Utah Jazz | 29 | 41 | .414 | 20 | 14-27 | 5-10 | 20-15 | 9-26 | 2-2 | 2-8 | L 4 |
| 13 Memphis Grizzlies– o | 23 | 47 | .329 | 26 | 13-32 | 7-7 | 8-27 | 15-20 | 1-3 | 3-7 | L 4 |
| 14 Portland Trail Blazers– o | 19 | 50 | .275 | 29.5 | 8-37 | 1-14 | 11-25 | 8-25 | 5-3 | 2-8 | L 4 |
| 15 San Antonio Spurs– o | 15 | 54 | .217 | 33.5 | 9-32 | 1-12 | 8-25 | 7-29 | 2-1 | 4-6 | L 1 |