Croatian basketball player Karlo Matković scored 16 points (7-8 shooting) and had two rebounds in his New Orleans Pelicans’ 109-122 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Deni Avdija scored 34 points and had 11 assists as Portland sent host New Orleans to its sixth straight loss. Caleb Love hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Trail Blazers, who won for the third time in four games.
Zion Williamson had 35 points and eight rebounds for the Pelicans, who were without injured starters Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen, Herbert Jones and Saddiq Bey.
Giannis Antetokounmpo he scored 30 points, including the game-winning dunk, and led the way Milwaukee Bucks to a tense 122-121 victory over the visitors to the Charlotte Hornets.
Antetokounmpo grabbed 10 rebounds and added five assists, breaking the record for most games in NBA history with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He now has 158, breaking the record he briefly shared with Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
De’Aaron Fox led the scorers with 24 points while San Antonio inflicted on the host Indians 11th straight loss with a 123-113 win in Indianapolis. The Spurs improved to 10-3 this season without their star Victor Wembanyama, who is out with a sore left knee. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points in 28 minutes while Oklahoma City in San Francisco won decimated Golden States with 131-94. Chet Holmgren added 15 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, while Branden Carlson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who won their fourth straight by their second-largest margin of the season.
Playing without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green, the Warriors had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Darius Garland scored 18 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 2:13 left, while Cleveland surpassed by the away team Denver 113-108. Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for the Cavaliers, who won their third straight game after trailing by double digits early in the third quarter.
Jamal Murray had a game-high 34 points, six rebounds and seven assists for Denver, which was without four starters and Nikola Jokic, who is out until February after spraining his left knee on Dec. 29.
Luka Doncic scored 34 points with eight assists, and LeBron James scored 31 points with nine rebounds in the home win Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 against Memphis Grizzlies.
Jake LaRavia scored 21 points against his former team, and Marcus Smart had 13 with eight rebounds and seven assists, leading the Lakers to just their second win in six games during their toughest stretch of the season.
Doncic made 17 free throws out of 20 attempts in the game and scored 15 points in the third quarter alone. He hit just one 3-pointer in seven attempts that night. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 20 for the Grizzlies, who have lost three straight.
(Hina | Photo: X)
