Spoiling the return of German star Franz Wagner, thePortland Trail Blazersrouted theOrlando Magic, 101-79, in Kia Center on Thursday.
Lasting 24 minutes after missing 20 games in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season with a right oblique tear, Wagner tallied a team-high 20 points behind 9/19 field goals, besides recording four rebounds and one block. Coming off the bench, German Tristan da Silva had 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Georgian Goga Bitadze (concussion) and German Moritz Wagner (left knee surgery) remained sidelined.
Belgian Toumani Camara recovered from an illness and pushed theBlazersto a third straight win with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals. Fellow starter, Israeli Deni Avdija threw in 13 points, five assists, and five rebounds. French Rayan Rupert grabbed two rebounds.
Breaking out of a shooting slump, Bogdan Bogdanovic tucked in 8/12 from the field, including 3/5 triples, but his 23 points were not enough forAtlanta Hawksfalling to fellow Serbian Darko Rajakovic and theToronto Raptors, 122-119, in State Farm Arena.“Whatever you score it doesn’t matter,”he said focusing on a losing effort for his team,“It’s been like that my whole career. It’s never going to change anything.”
Bogdanovic tallied three rebounds and one block over 32 minutes. Czech Vit Krejci went for 13 points, two steals, two assists, and two rebounds. However, Swiss Clint Capela (right knee soreness) joined Zaccharie Risacher (left adductor strain) on the injury list. For the team coached by Rajakovic, Austrian Jakob Poeltl chipped in 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
Setting his NBA-high at 20 points, Dutch Quinten Post was among the headliners in a win, 131-106, for theGolden State Warriorsover theChicago Bullsin Chase Center. In addition to 7/12 field goals, including five three-pointers, he chipped in five rebounds and three assists. German Dennis Schroder drove in 11 points, seven assists, and two rebounds. On the opposite side, Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic finished with nine points, six rebounds, four steals and four rebounds, while Lithuanian Matas Buzelis settled at three points and four rebounds.
After missing one game, Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (illness) scored a team-high 22 points, besides tallying seven rebounds and two assists, but theBoston Celticslost, 117-96, to theLos Angeles Lakersin Crypto.com Arena.“I think we’re starting to play better, but we didn’t have a good night tonight. We had a back-to-back, that has to go into the equation,”he said. Portuguese teammate Neemias Queta registered six points, three assists, two steals, one block, and one rebound.
Returning to action, Ivica Zubac (left eye corneal abrasion) and Nicolas Batum (right finger soreness) helped theLos Angeles Clippersbeat theWashington Wizards, 110-93, in Intuit Dome. The Croatian center threw in 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists, and the French forward went for three points, one steal, and one assist. James Harden netted his 79th career triple-double.
The French starters of theWizards, Bilal Coulibaly packed 15 points alongside five rebounds, three steals and one assist, and Alex Sarr posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double plus two assists and one steal. Coming off the bench, Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas recorded a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double and one assist. Serbian Tristan Vukcevic had one rebound.
Indiana Pacers–San Antonio Spurs110-140Orlando Magic– Portland Trail Blazers79-101Atlanta Hawks–Toronto Raptors119-122Milwaukee Bucks–Miami Heat125-96Oklahoma City Thunder–Dallas Mavericks115-121Denver Nuggets–Sacramento Kings132-123Golden State Warriors–Chicago Bulls131-106Los Angeles Lakers–Boston Celtics117-96Los Angeles Clippers– Washington Wizards110-93
1.Cleveland Cavaliers36-72. Boston Celtics31-143.New York Knicks29-164.Milwaukee Bucks25-175.Indiana Pacers24-206.Detroit Pistons23-217. Orlando Magic23-238. Atlanta Hawks22-229.Miami Heat21-2210. Chicago Bulls19-2611.Philadelphia 76ers15-2712.Brooklyn Nets14-3113.Charlotte Hornets11-2914. Toronto Raptors12-3215. Washington Wizards6-37
1.Oklahoma City Thunder36-82.Houston Rockets29-143.Memphis Grizzlies29-154.Denver Nuggets28-165. Los Angeles Lakers24-186. Los Angeles Clippers25-197.Dallas Mavericks24-218.Sacramento Kings23-219.Minnesota Timberwolves23-2110.Phoenix Suns22-2111. Golden State Warriors22-2212.San Antonio Spurs20-2213. Portland Trail Blazers16-2814.New Orleans Pelicans12-3215.Utah Jazz10-32
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