By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Goran Dragic and the Miami Heat outplayed Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks 131 – 126 in overtime to capture their second win in the two first games of the 2019-2020 regular season.
Dragic finished with a team-high 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 35 minutes. The Slovenian guard also scored four consecutive points with two free throws and a mid-range jumper to make it 129 – 123 with 56 seconds remaining in the extra period.
“We were down and we never quit,” Dragic said, per the Associated Press. “We fought back. We could make our job a little bit easier if we hit all those free throws. But in the end, a great comeback. When Giannis hit that layup (at the horn), a lot of teams in this league would just quit and we didn’t. I’m proud of the guys.”
Giannis buzzer-beating layup that forced the extra period was rather impressive indeed. The reigning NBA MVP caught the ball mid-air after a step-back jumper by Khris Middleton and threw it in the basket for the 121-121.
Antetokounmpo came one assist shy of the triple-double, completing the game with 29 points, 17 rebounds and nine dimes before fouling out with 2:31 remaining in the extra period. It was the third consecutive official game the “Greek Freak” is fouling out, following the World Cup match vs. Czech Republic and the Bucks’ opener against the Houston Rockets.
“Obviously, we’ve got to learn from tonight’s game. “We were up 21 and we allowed them to come back into the game. We cannot let that happen. Good teams don’t let that happen. Definitely, we’re going to learn from this,” was Giannis’ reaction, per the Associated Press.
Ersan Ilyasova added 11 points and five boards for the Bucks.
The clash of the “Bogdanovices” in Salt Lake City saw Bojan as the winner. The Utah Jazz crushed the Sacramento Kings 113 – 81 behind 26 points (5/9 triples) by the Croatian forward. Rudy Gobert added six points and six rebounds.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was just one of the two Kings players along with Dewayne Dedmon (11 points) to finish in double figures, scoring 10 in 24 minutes. Nemanja Bjelica had seven points in 17 minutes.
In Phoenix, the Suns handed the L.A. Clippers their first loss of the season, 130 – 122. Dario Saric put his piece in the victory with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while Devin Booker led the way for Phoenix (30 points, eight rebounds, six assists). Elie Okobo scored four points off the bench.
Ivica Zubac was a starter for the Clippers. He completed the game with seven points and five boards in 17 minutes.
Evan Fournier scored 28 points and Nikola Vucevic posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Orlando Magic against the Atlanta Hawks. Trae Young, though, was too much and his 39 points led Atlanta to a 103 – 99.
The Houston Rockets go their first win of the season by beating the New Orleans Pelicans 126 – 123. Clint Capela helped the winning side with 15 points and six rebounds.
Russell Westbrook (28 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds) and James Harden (29 points, five assists, four rebounds) were the showrunners for Houston while Brandon Ingram had 35 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for the Pelicans.
Nicolo Melli scored 10 points in 11 minutes in the third NBA game of his career.
In San Antonio, Davis Bertans scored 23 points on perfect shooting (5/5 3-pointers, 2/2 2-pointers) against the Spurs, his former team in the Washington Wizards 124 – 122 loss. Marco Belinelli finished with 2 points.
Serge Ibaka notched 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Chicago Bulls 108 – 84 on the road. Marc Gasol didn’t take many shots (1/2 2-pointers, 1/1 3-pointers) and finished with five points and 10 rebounds.
Lauri Markkanen was off the mark (3/10 shots) en route to scoring nine points while grabbing seven rebounds. Tomas Satoransky had eight points and four assists for Chicago. The rest of last night’s games and the euro-scorers were the following:
Cleveland Cavaliers – Indiana Pacers 110 – 99 (Sabonis 14 points, five rebounds, Bitadze 2 points, Osman 1)
Philadelphia 76ers – Detroit Pistons 117 – 11
Boston Celtics – New York Knicks 118 – 95 (Poirier 2 points)