By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A second career triple-double of Deni Avdija pushed the Portland Trail Blazers to a win, 127-113, against the Atlanta Hawks in State Farm Arena.
The 24-year-old Israeli combo forward ended up with 32 points, 15 assists, ten rebounds, and two assists on Tuesday. “It’s not easy,” he said about his triple-double in a postgame media session, “I couldn’t do it without my teammates. But I still got to take care of the ball a little better. I still got to tweak some things here and there. Yeah, it’s fun. We won. That’s what matters.”
Fellow starter, Belgian Toumani Camara, downplayed a late arm injury after chipping in 18 points, two steals, two rebounds, one block, and one assist. “We’re missing a lot of guys. Everybody is showing up, doing their job. Deni stepping up in a big way helped us for sure,” he went on praising his teammate. French Rayan Rupert settled in 69 fruitless seconds and French Sidy Cissoko did not suit up.
Coming off the bench for the Hawks, Czech Vit Krejci finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. French starter Zaccharie Risacher registered nine points, three rebounds, two blocks, and two assists. Expected to miss the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season, Swiss Clint Capela (left fourth metacarpal ligament sprain) stayed on the injury list.
In Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks overpowered the Philadelphia 76ers, 105-91. O.G. Anunoby paved the way with 27 points, alongside five rebounds and two steals. “OG’s got a great mix going right now,” head coach Tom Thibodeau commented on recent showings of the 27-year-old British winger, “Attacking the rim, getting to the line, high-volume threes. He’s not hesitating. It’s really, really good basketball, and his defense is elite.”
In additional European options for the Knicks, French Pacome Dadiet was assigned to the G League’s Westchester Knicks and German Ariel Hukporti (left knee surgery) remained on the injury list. For the Sixers, French Guerschon Yabusele (right knee soreness) was ruled out, but Turkish Adem Bona tallied nine points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and two assists as the starting center of Nick Nurse.
German Franz Wagner recorded 24 points, seven assists, and five rebounds for the Orlando Magic in a comeback win, 116-105, opposite the San Antonio Spurs in Frost Bank Center. His brother Moritz (left knee surgery) remained sidelined and fellow German Tristan da Silva did not play. In just under 12 minutes, Georgian Goga Bitadze squeezed in two points, six rebounds, one block, and one assist.
Since Polish Jeremy Sochan (lower back spasms) was a late scratch and joined French Victor Wembanyama (right shoulder deep vein thrombosis) on the list of unavailable players, Sandro Mamukelashvili remained the only European option for interim head coach Mitch Johnson, with the Spurs on the brink of elimination. The 25-year-old Georgian forward/center was limited to three points with 1/6 from the field over 19 minutes.
Meanwhile, Stephen Curry scored 52 points, including 12 three-pointers, and Draymond Green posted a triple-double as the Golden State Warriors took down the Memphis Grizzlies, 134-125, in FedExForum. Coming off the bench, Dutch Quinten Post chipped in nine points, one rebound, and one assist. For the team guided by Finnish Tuomas Iisalo, Spanish Santi Aldama had 18 points, six rebounds, one steal, and one assist.
The team coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic, the Toronto Raptors, fell to the Chicago Bulls, 137-118, in United Center. His starting center, Austrian Jakob Poeltl, finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists. On the winning side, Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic produced 22 points, ten rebounds, seven assists, and one block, while Lithuanian Matas Buzelis packed nine points, four steals, three rebounds, and one block.
Tuesday results
Atlanta Hawks – Portland Trail Blazers 113-127
New York Knicks – Philadelphia 76ers 105-91
San Antonio Spurs – Orlando Magic 105-116
Chicago Bulls – Toronto Raptors 137-118
Memphis Grizzlies – Golden State Warriors 125-134
Milwaukee Bucks – Phoenix Suns 133-123
Denver Nuggets – Minnesota Timberwolves 139-140 2OT (125-125, 112-112)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. p-Cleveland Cavaliers 60-15
2. p-Boston Celtics 56-19
3. p-New York Knicks 48-27
4. p-Indiana Pacers 44-31
5. Detroit Pistons 42-33
6. Milwaukee Bucks 41-34
7. Orlando Magic 37-40
8. Atlanta Hawks 36-39
9. Miami Heat 34-41
10. Chicago Bulls 34-42
11. e-Toronto Raptors 28-48
12. e-Brooklyn Nets 25-51
13. e-Philadelphia 76ers 23-53
14. e-Charlotte Hornets 19-56
15. e-Washington Wizards 16-59
Western Conference
1. p-Oklahoma City Thunder 63-12
2. Houston Rockets 49-27
3. Denver Nuggets 47-29
4. Los Angeles Lakers 46-29
5. Golden State Warriors 44-31
6. Memphis Grizzlies 44-32
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 44-32
8. Los Angeles Clippers 43-32
9. Dallas Mavericks 37-39
10. Sacramento Kings 36-39
11. Phoenix Suns 35-41
12. Portland Trail Blazers 33-43
13. San Antonio Spurs 31-44
14. e-New Orleans Pelicans 21-54
15. e-Utah Jazz 16-60
-The top six teams from each conference clinch a berth in the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh to tenth advance to the Play-Ins
p-clinched a playoff berth
e-eliminated