By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic sank seven shots beyond the arc and poured a NBA career-high 34 points, but the Dallas Mavericks suffered a heartbreaking 114-112 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Dirk Nowitzki added a season-high 11 points and Maxi Kleber finished up with seven points, but the Texans were unable to stop Anthony Davis, who dominated in both ends scoring 48 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Pelicans’ Nikola Mirotic (right ankle) remained on the sidelines.
Talking about dominating performances, Nikola Vucevic notched 30 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists for the Orlando Magic in their impressive 116-87 home victory against the Toronto Raptors. His teammate Evan Fournier scored seven points, Timofey Mozgov (right knee) remained on the injury list. Serge Ibaka finished up with 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the losing side and OG Anunoby posted eight points, while Jonas Valanciunas (left hand) missed one more game.
Nikola Jokic had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists before fouling out in the Denver Nuggets 102-99 win against the San Antonio Spurs. Juan Hernangomez added six points. On the other side, Marco Belinelli scored nine points, Jakob Poeltl seven and Davis Bertans six, while Pau Gasol (left foot) was active for the first time after his long injury layoff proving that he’s inching close to his return.
Dennis Schroder took full advantage of Paul George (quad) absence, started in his teammate’s place and went off for 20 points helping the Oklahoma City Thunder overpower the Phoenix Suns, 118-102. Russell Westbrook scored 40 points. Alex Abrines (illness) remained out and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was available but didn’t play. Suns’ Elie Okobo and Dragan Bender also remained on the bench.
Danilo Gallinari had 19 points and ten rebounds for the Los Angeles Clippers in their 119-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Boban Marjanovic added four points and Marcin Gortat two, while Milos Teodosic once again remained on the bench. Lakers’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Moritz Wagner and Isaac Bonga were also left out of the rotation, but Ivica Zubac played and notched seven points.
Domantas Sabonis posted his 15th double-double of the 2018-19 Regular Season with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Indiana Pacers that strolled to a 125-88 away win over the Detroit Pistons. His teammate Bojan Bogdanovic scored 12 points of his own. Zaza Pachulia and Jose Calderon were also in action posting six and two points respectively for the home team.
Tony Parker poured 17 of his 19 points in the final six minutes and the Charlotte Hornets got a 100-87 victory against the Brooklyn Nets. Nicolas Batum added five points and Willy Hernangomez scored three. Rodions Kurucs finished up with five points for the visitors, while Dzanan Musa (left shoulder) missed one more game.
Lauri Markkanen aided the Chicago Bulls in their 101-92 away win over the Washington Wizards with 14 points and 14 boards. Czech Tomas Satoransky filled the home team’s starting five taking John Wall’s (heel) place and posted nine points. His teammate Ian Mahinmi had two points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Goran Dragic (right knee) remained on the sidelines, but the Miami Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 118-94. Cedi Osman was one of the nine Cavs available and scored 12 points for the losing side, while Ante Zizic (knee) was held out.
Dario Saric had seven points, but the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a 123-120 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks. His teammate Luol Deng didn’t get any action. Hawks’ Alex Len (back) remained out and Tyler Dorsey was available but didn’t play.
Friday’s results, the European scorers of the night and the NBA standings:
| Charlotte Hornets | Brooklyn Nets | 100-87 | Tony Parker 19pts, 1reb, 2ast, 1blk, Nicolas Batum 5pts, 9reb, 5ast, 1stl, Willy Hernangomez 3pts, 6reb, 1ast – Rodions Kurucs 5pts, 3reb, 1blk |
| Indiana Pacers | Detroit Pistons | 125-88 | Domantas Sabonis 19pts, 12reb, 3ast, 1blk, Bojan Bogdanovic 12pts, 5reb, 2ast – Zaza Pachulia 6pts, 6reb, 1ast, Jose Calderon 2pts, 2reb, 7ast, 1blk |
| Orlando Magic | Toronto Raptors | 116-87 | Nikola Vucevic 30pts, 20reb, 8ast, 2stl, 1blk, Evan Fournier 7pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1stl, 1blk – Serge Ibaka 17pts, 8reb, 3ast, 4blk, OG Anunoby 8pts, 2reb, 1ast |
| Washington Wizards | Chicago Bulls | 92-101 | Tomas Satoransky 9pts, 4reb, 3ast, 2stl, 1blk, Ian Mahinmi 2pts, 3reb, 2ast, 2blk – Lauri Markkanen 14pts, 14reb, 1blk |
| Miami Heat | Cleveland Cavaliers | 118-94 | Cedi Osman 12pts, 5reb, 1ast, 1stl |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Atlanta Hawks | 120-123 | Dario Saric 7pts, 4reb, 1ast, 2stl |
| New Orleans Pelicans | Dallas Mavericks | 114-112 | Luka Doncic 34pts, 2reb, 3ast, Dirk Nowitzki 11pts, 1reb, Maxi Kleber 7pts, 3reb, 4ast, 2blk |
| Denver Nuggets | San Antonio Spurs | 102-99 | Nikola Jokic 21pts, 9reb, 9ast, Juan Hernangomez 6pts, 4reb, 2ast – Marco Belinelli 9pts, 3reb, 2ast, 1stl, Jakob Poeltl 7pts, 5reb, 2ast, Davis Bertans 6pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1blk |
| Phoenix Suns | Oklahoma City Thunder | 102-118 | Dennis Schroder 20pts, 4reb, 6ast, 2stl |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Los Angeles Clippers | 107-118 | Ivica Zubac 7pts, 3reb, 3ast, 1stl, 1blk – Danilo Gallinari 19pts, 10reb, 3ast, 1stl, 1blk, Boban Marjanovic 4pts, 4reb, 1ast, 2blk, Marcin Gortat, 2pts, 3reb, 5ast, 1stl, 1blk |
Eastern Conference:
1. Milwaukee Bucks 24-10
2. Toronto Raptors 26-11
3. Indiana Pacers 24-12
4. Philadelphia 76ers 23-13
5. Boston Celtics 20-14
6. Charlotte Hornets 17-17
7. Miami Heat 17-17
8. Detroit Pistons 16-17
9. Brooklyn Nets 17-20
10. Orlando Magic 15-19
11. Washington Wizards 13-23
12. Atlanta Hawks 10-24
13. Chicago Bulls 10-26
14. New York Knicks 9-27
15. Cleveland Cavaliers 8-28
Western Conference
1. Denver Nuggets 22-11
2. Oklahoma City Thunder 22-12
3. Golden State Warriors 23-13
4. Los Angeles Clippers 21-14
5. Portland Trail Blazers 20-15
6. Houston Rockets 19-15
7. Los Angeles Lakers 20-16
8. Sacramento Kings 19-16
9. Memphis Grizzlies 18-16
10. San Antonio Spurs 19-17
11. Utah Jazz 17-19
12. Dallas Mavericks 16-18
13. Minnesota Timberwolves 16-19
14. New Orleans Pelicans 16-20
15. Phoenix Suns 9-27
Photo Credit: Getty Images