For some time now, the
NBA
has ceased to be a universe in which dazzling is the exclusive responsibility of Americans.
Three players born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean confirmed this Monday that Europeans have a lot to contribute to the most important basketball league on the planet:
the Slovenian Luka Doncic, the Serbian Nikola Jokic and the Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis.
Doncic had 45 points, 15 assists and 9 rebounds
in the Dallas Mavericks' 131-129 victory over the Orlando Magic.
In this way, he became
the first player in the history of the league
to achieve at least 45 points and 15 assists on more than one occasion: he had also achieved it on December 25 in a victory against the Phoenix Suns.
And he did it just three days after scoring 73 points in a victory against Atlanta that had represented the third highest mark in NBA history.
The point guard, born 24 years ago in Ljubljana,
made 12 of his 23 attempts from the field (52.2%) and 18 of 21 on free throws (85.7%)
in a game in which he remained on the field for 43 minutes.
The former Real Madrid player was very well supported by Tim Hardaway Jr, who contributed 36 points and 8 rebounds.
The duo accounted for 54 of Dallas' 70 points in the second half and 27 of its 35 in the fourth quarter.
In addition, Dereck Lively II contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jalen Hardy scored 20 points and distributed 7 assists for the Mavericks, who have a record of 26 wins and 21 losses on the season and are seventh in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, Orlando left with a record of 24-23 that places it in eighth position in the East.
Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 81 POINTS in the Mavericks' win over the Magic!
Doncic: 45 PTS, 15 AST, 9 REB
Hardaway Jr.: 36 PTS, 5 3PM, 8 REB pic.twitter.com/6WRGFHOB03
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2024
In Denver,
Jokic posted his 14th triple-double of the season
to ruin Doc Rivers' debut as coach of the Milwaukee Bucks (he replaced Adrian Griffin):
he scored 25 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and delivered 12 assists
in the 113th victory. -107 for the Nuggets in a tight game that saw 12 ties and nine lead changes.
“This is why I play, to play these types of matches, to play under pressure in tight matches. I like those circumstances
, ”
highlighted the 28-year-old Serbian
, who last year was the Most Valuable Player of the Finals and is now accumulating merits to be the MVP of the season.
Although the work of the former Belgrade Mega Vizura player was dazzling, he was not far behind the work of Canadian point guard
Jamal Murray
, who added 35 points for the current champions.
The Greek
Giannis Antetokounmpo
could not avoid Milwaukee's defeat despite his 29 points and 12 rebounds.
Big game from Jamal and Nikola at Ball!
Jamal: 35 PTS / 2 REB / 5 AST
KCP: 12 PTS / 1 REB / 2 AST
Nikola: 25 PTS / 16 REB / 12 AST
AG: 8 PTS / 6 REB / 2 AST
MPJ: 13 PTS / 8 REB pic.twitter .com/65YaQyHP2x
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 30, 2024
With this victory, the eighth in their last 11 games and the 400th under the command of Michael Malone,
the Nuggets reached a record of 33-15
and were just half a game behind the West leader, Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bucks, with a record of 32-15, are second to the Boston Celtics in the East.
For his part,
Sabonis showed enviable precision by converting 10 of his 11 field goals
(totaling 20 points) in the Sacramento Kings' 103-94 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
He also had 26 rebounds and 5 assists, which allowed him to become
the second player in league history
with at least 20 points, 25 rebounds, 5 assists and 90% shooting from the field in a game.
The only one who had achieved that mark had been the legendary Wilt Chamberlain, who did it six times.
“(Sabonis) had a monster night. "I'm not saying it's Wilt (Chamberlain), but it's absolutely incredible that he's mentioned in that category for putting up that stat line like he did
, "
Kings coach Mike Brown praised
the Lithuanian intern, who also achieved his record of rebounds in an NBA game: he surpassed the 25 he had obtained playing for the Indiana Pacers on November 29, 2021 in a duel against Minnesota.
A tenacious effort by @Dsabonis11 tonight in Memphis ⤵️
Sabonis is the fourth player in franchise history to have multiple 20-20-5 games in more than one season 😲
👑 26 rebounds, 20 points pic.twitter.com/4qz0GZKDVe
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 30, 2024
Shooting guard
Kevin Huerter
, author of 17 points on Monday night, also highlighted the contribution that the player trained at Gonzaga University makes to the team:
“
The impressive thing about Sabonis is that he plays hard every night.
Eighty-two games
.
"He always wants to be on the court, he sets the tone for us on both sides of the field, he tries to lead us to victory with his energy and with the way he talks to the kids
. "
With this win, their fourth in a row, the Kings improved their record to 27-18 and are fifth in the West.
In that same conference, the Grizzlies are 13th and far from the fight to access the playoffs, with 18 wins and 29 losses.