Zubac overpowers Wembanyama, Rajakovic collects a fifth straight win

2025-01-30T09:06:25+00:00 2025-01-30T10:27:05+00:00.

Giannis Askounis

30/Jan/25 09:06

Eurohoops.net
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Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images / Ideal Image

Victor Wembanyama falls shy of a win in the European battle opposite Ivica Zubac

By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net

Pulling away late in the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Clippers topped the San Antonio Spurs, 128-116, in Frost Bank Center on Wednesday.

Prevailing in a heated matchup opposite Victor Wembanyama, Croatian Ivica Zubac posted a 23-point, 21-rebound double-double plus three assists and one steal over 33 minutes. Lasting 17 minutes off the bench, French Nicolas Batum chipped in 12 points, five rebounds, and one steal.

On the losing end, Wemby tallied 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals. “Losing feels awful but winning feels so great,” the French prodigy commented on falling to 20-24 in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season with a second loss in a row, “It’s easy to forget about winning. It’s right next. So, we’ll get back to it.”

In European reserve options for the Spurs, Polish Jeremy Sochan registered seven points, four assists, two steals and one block, and Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili paired two points with three rebounds. French Sidy Cissoko (concussion) was out.

The Toronto Raptors, guided by Serbian head coach Darko Rajakovic, collected a fifth straight win by taking down the Washington Wizards, 106-82, in Capital One Arena. Austrian Jakob Poeltl threw in 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals. “We put in the work all season long and now in this stretch, in the last eight to ten games, we’ve been really solid defensively,” the 29-year-old center pointed to more success, “It’s just about keeping that up, keep cleaning up our mistakes, and going from there.”

On the wrong end of one-way traffic, Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas replaced French Alex Sarr (left ankle sprain) in the starting lineup and combined six points with 11 rebounds. Fellow starter, French Bilal Coulibaly tallied eight points, two rebounds, one steal and one assist. Off the bench, Serbian Tristan Vukcevic had three points, two rebounds, and one assist.

Sidestepping a 52-point show by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-109, in Chase Center. Returning to reserve role, German Dennis Schroder piled up nine points, seven assists, four rebounds and one steal, but Dutch Quinten Post was limited to two turnovers and eight minutes in his first NBA start.

For the Thunder, German Isaiah Hartenstein recorded four points, 18 rebounds, six assists, and one block. French Ousmane Dieng ended up with two rebounds and one assist. Belgian Ajay Mitchell (right great toe surgery) and Serbian Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) remained sidelined.

In Footprint Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied past the Phoenix Suns, 121-113. French Rudy Gobert contributed four points, five rebounds, two blocks, one steal, and one assist, while Bosnian Luka Garza scored three points. Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic stayed on the Suns bench.

Wednesday results

Charlotte HornetsBrooklyn Nets 83-104
Indiana PacersDetroit Pistons 133-119
Washington WizardsToronto Raptors 82-106
Boston CelticsChicago Bulls 122-100
Miami HeatCleveland Cavaliers 106-126
New York KnicksDenver Nuggets 122-112
Philadelphia 76ersSacramento Kings 117-104
New Orleans PelicansDallas Mavericks 136-137
San Antonio Spurs – Los Angeles Clippers 116-128
Phoenix Suns – Minnesota Timberwolves 113-121
Golden State Warriors – Oklahoma City Thunder 116-109

Standings

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 38-9
2. Boston Celtics 33-15
3. New York Knicks 32-16
4. Milwaukee Bucks 26-19
5. Indiana Pacers 26-20
6. Orlando Magic 24-24
7. Miami Heat 23-23
8. Detroit Pistons 23-24
9. Atlanta Hawks 22-25
10. Chicago Bulls 20-28
11. Philadelphia 76ers 19-27
12. Toronto Raptors 15-32
13. Brooklyn Nets 15-33
14. Charlotte Hornets 12-32
15. Washington Wizards 6-40

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder 37-9
2. Houston Rockets 32-14
3. Memphis Grizzlies 31-16
4. Denver Nuggets 28-19
5. Los Angeles Lakers 26-19
6. Los Angeles Clippers 27-20
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 26-21
8. Dallas Mavericks 26-22
9. Phoenix Suns 24-22
10. Sacramento Kings 24-23
11. Golden State Warriors 24-23
12. San Antonio Spurs 20-24
13. Portland Trail Blazers 18-29
14. New Orleans Pelicans 12-36
15. Utah Jazz 10-35

-The top six teams from each conference clinch a berth in the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh to tenth advance to the Play-Ins

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