By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Lauri Markkanen highlighted the European action of the night scoring a career-high 35 points. He also took down 15 boards for the Chicago Bulls that overpowered the Boston Celtics 126-116 at the United Center behind Zach LaVine’s personal-best 42 points.
The NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks overcame the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 140-128 home win. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic and Ersan Ilyasova added a total of 30 points.
Cedi Osman sank the go-ahead three en route for his 11 points and Ante Zizic added 18 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers that beat the Memphis Grizzlies 112-107. Jonas Valanciunas had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the visitors.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Domantas Sabonis helped the Indiana Pacers in their 119-112 win against the Washington Wizards. The former scored 18 points and the latter had a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double at the Capital One Arena.
Jusuf Nurkic posted a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double. His teammate Enes Kanter added 14 points and eight boards for the Portland Trail Blazers that achieved a 130-115 over the Philadelphia 76ers on the road.
Tony Parker poured 21 points, also dished five assists and added five rebounds to his tally. However, he wasn’t enough for the Charlotte Hornets in their 117-115 home defeat to the Brooklyn Nets.
Ricky Rubio went off for 25 points leading the Utah Jazz to their 125-109 home victory against the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki made his first start of the 2018-19 Regular Season and scored 15 points for the losing side.
Luka Doncic (right ankle) remained out alongside teammates Kristaps Porzingis (left knee) and Maxi Kleber (illness). Sixers’ Furkan Korkmaz (right knee) was the other European on his team’s injury list.
Goran Dragic (4pts) played for the first time since December for the Miami Heat that suffered a 119-96 home defeat to the Detroit Pistons. Zaza Pachulia scored four points for the winning side, but Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Jose Calderon were inactive.
Results and European action:
| Philadelphia 76ers | Portland Trail Blazers | 115-130 | Marjanovic 4pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1stl – Nurkic 24pts, 10reb, 4ast, Kanter 14pts, 8reb, 4ast |
| Atlanta Hawks | Phoenix Suns | 120-112 | Len 1reb, 1ast – Bender 4pts, 5reb, Okobo DNP |
| Charlotte Hornets | Brooklyn Nets | 115-117 | Parker 21pts, 5reb, 5ast, 1blk, Batum 14pts, 4reb, 1ast, 1stl, 1blk, W. Hernangomez DNP – Kurucs 4pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1stl |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Memphis Grizzlies | 112-107 | Zizic 18pts, 7reb, 1ast, Osman 11pts, 4reb, 2ast – Valanciunas 25pts, 11reb, 1ast, 2blk, Noah 16pts, 7reb, 4ast, 1stl, 2blk, Dorsey DNP |
| Washington Wizards | Indiana Pacers | 112-119 | Satoransky 12pts, 3ast, 6stl, Mahinmi DNP – Boj. Bogdanovic 18pts, 4reb, 4ast, 1stl, Sabonis 13pts, 12reb, 3ast, 4stl |
| New Orleans Pelicans | Los Angeles Lakers | 128-115 | Wagner 4pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1stl |
| Miami Heat | Detroit Pistons | 96-119 | Dragic 4pts – Pachulia 4pts, 5reb, 1ast |
| Chicago Bulls | Boston Celtics | 126-116 | Markkanen 35pts, 15reb, 2ast, 1stl, Luwawu-Cabarrot 3pts – Theis 8pts, 4reb, 2ast, 2blk, Yabusele DNP |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Sacramento Kings | 116-119 | Schroder 14pts, 2reb, 2ast – Bogd, Bogdanovic 15pts, 4reb, 1ast, 2stl, Koufos DNP, Bjelica DNP |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Minnesota Timberwolves | 140-128 | G. Antetokounmpo 27pts, 10reb, 7ast, 1stl, 2blk, Mirotic 17pts, 6reb, 1ast, 1stl, 2blk, Ilyasova 13pts, 7reb – Deng 10pts, 2ast, Saric 7pts, 8reb, 3ast, 1stl |
| Golden State Warriors | Houston Rockets | 112-118 | Jerebko 3pts, 3reb – Capela 8pts, 15reb, 1stl, 1blk |
| Utah Jazz | Dallas Mavericks | 125-109 | Rubio 25pts, 4reb, 5ast, 1stl, Gobert 15pts, 12reb, 1ast, 3blk, Sefolosha 5pts, 2reb, 1ast – Nowitzki 15pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1stl |
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Milwaukee Bucks 45-14
2. Toronto Raptors 44-16
3. Indiana Pacers 40-20
4. Philadelphia 76ers 38-22
5. Boston Celtics 37-23
6. Brooklyn Nets 31-30
7. Detroit Pistons 28-30
8. Charlotte Hornets 28-31
9. Orlando Magic 27-33
10. Miami Heat 26-32
11. Washington Wizards 24-36
12. Atlanta Hawks 20-40
13. Chicago Bulls 16-44
14. Cleveland Cavaliers 14-46
15. New York Knicks 11-48
Western Conference
1. Golden State Warriors 42-17
2. Denver Nuggets 40-18
3. Oklahoma City Thunder 38-21
4. Portland Trail Blazers 36-23
5. Houston Rockets 34-25
6. Utah Jazz 33-26
7. San Antonio Spurs 33-27
8. Los Angeles Clippers 33-27
9. Sacramento Kings 31-28
10. Los Angeles Lakers 29-30
11. Minnesota Timberwolves 28-31
12. New Orleans Pelicans 27-34
13. Dallas Mavericks 26-33
14. Memphis Grizzlies 23-38
15. Phoenix Suns 11-50