By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo had no match at the American Airlines Center on Friday evening. The Greek Freak led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 118-111 victory against the Dallas Mavericks with 34 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in 23 minutes of friendly work. Ersan İlyasova poured 18 points from the bench, fellow European reserve Dragan Bender finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 dimes. Thanasis Antetokoumpo had 5 points in 11 minutes.
Luka Doncic posted a team-high 27 points for the home side, tallied 7 boards, 2 dimes and 1 steal in 23 minutes as well. The prep game also featured Boban Marjanovic and his 16 points plus 8 rebounds in 16 minutes, Latvian star Kristaps Porzingis and his 11 points behind 4/13 from the field, and Maxi Kleber’s 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 22 minutes.
The Washington Wizards defeated the New York Knicks, 115-99, at the Madison Square Garden. Moritz Wagner made an 18-point contribution and fellow European starter Isaac Bonga put up 4 points. Davis Bertans added 9 points and 7 rebounds from the bench, injured Ian Mahinmi remained out. For the hosts, Frank Ntilikina posted 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, but Ignas Brazdeikis failed to get on the board in 7 minutes of work.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert scored 15 points apiece for the Utah Jazz in the 128-127 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The former also tallied 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, the French big 3 rebounds, 1 dime and a couple of rejections. The winning side was led by Zion Williamson and his game-high 26 points, Italian Nicolo Melli added 6 points in 14 minutes, but Kavell Bigby-Williams did not leave the bench.
Domantas Sabonis ended up with 8 points and 14 boards for the Indiana Pacers in the 105-87 win over the Chicago Bulls in the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Israeli-American T.J. Leaf added 7 points, Naz Mitrou-Long was out alongside injured Goga Bitadze. Italian-American Ryan Arcidiacono poured 10 points for the losing side and Adam Mokoka notched 8 with fellow Europeans Lauri Markkanen and Tomas Satoransky resting.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk finished with 4 points and Sekou Doumbouya did not get on the court for the Detroit Pistons in the 109-105 victory versus the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Little Caesars Arena. Cedi Osman had 8 points in losing effort, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot stayed on the bench and Ante Zizic was held out with left foot soreness.
Other friendly action saw Furkan Korkmaz notch 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists and 1 steal for the Philadelphia 76ers that beat the Charlotte Hornets, 100-87, in the Lawrence Joel Coliseum at Winston Salem. Willy Hernangomez had 4 points and 2 rebounds in 5 minutes for the losing side. Nicolas Batum was sidelined with right Achilles soreness but downplayed the severity of his injury.
The Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic, 100-75, at the Amway Center. Daniel Theis had 9 rebounds to go along with his 4 points, Enes Kanter notched 2 points and 8 boards, while American-Montenegrin Javonte Green scored 4 points and Vincent Poirier grabbed 1 rebound. The hosts’ Evan Fournier went scoreless in 18 minutes and Nikola Vucevic did not play due to a minor ankle injury.
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