By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Two assists shy of a triple-double, Ousmane Dieng stood out for the Oklahoma City Thunder. His side routed the New Zealand Breakers, 117-89, in Tulsa’s BOK Center on Thursday evening.
After being named Finals MVP to complete the G League championship run of the Oklahoma City Blue last season, the 21-year-old French forward is working on a bigger role with the Thunder during the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season. In his third appearance in the 2024 NBA Preseason, he recorded a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double plus eight assists.
Dutch big Malevy Leons added 14 points, six rebounds, and four steals. German Isaiah Hartenstein was rested. In addition, Serbian Nikola Topic (knee) and Belgian Ajay Mitchell (ankle) were on the injury list.
After putting up 30 points in two preseason showings, Finnish Lauri Markkanen tallied 26 points with 9/19 field goals, including four triples, powering the Utah Jazz to a 107-102 victory versus the Dallas Mavericks in American Airlines Center. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out one assist over 28 minutes.
In FedExForum, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 119-94. Entering the starting lineup, Serbian Vasilije Micic chipped in four points, four assists, and three rebounds in 20 minutes. French teammates Tidjane Salaun and Moussa Diabate had 13 and ten points, respectively. For the hosts, Spanish Santi Aldama had ten points.
In other preseason action, Bennedict Mathurin scored 25 points, leading the Indiana Pacers to a win, 129-117, over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.