By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
Attended by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers135-120, behind Jamal Murray with 52 points. “He was doing some really good moves. So it was fun to watch, for sure,” said Nikola Jokic, responding to a question about Murray, 28, during a post-match media session. Initially considered likely to play in Indianapolis due to a recent left wrist sprain, the 30-year-old Serbian center approached another triple-double with 24 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and one block in 35:17. Lithuanian reserve Jonas Valanciunas recorded 11:02, totaling nine points, three rebounds and a steal.
Ending a five-game losing streak in the 2025-26 NBA regular season, the Los Angeles Clippers removed the Atlanta Falcons115-92, at State Farm Arena. Croatian Ivica Zubac had a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds and Frenchman Nicolas Batum scored six points, but Swiss Yanic Konan Niederhauser did not score and Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic (left hip contusion) remained on the injured list. THE Falcons kept Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (illness) sidelined, and Serbian Nikola Djurisic and Spaniard Eli Ndiaye on G League assignments with the College Park Skyhawks, but French starter Zaccharie Risacher scored 11 points and Czech reserve Vit Krejci had five points.
Luke Kornet blocking a Franz Wagner game-winning effort at the buzzer secured a 114-112 victory for the San Antonio Spurs against the Magic of Orlando at the Kia Center, and a seventh victory in nine outings without Frenchman Victor Wembanyama (left calf sprain). Pole Jeremy Sochan contributed four points. For the hosts, Franz scored a team-high 25 points, along with fellow German starter Tristan da Silva with 12 points and Georgian reserve Goga Bitadze with eight points, but Frenchman Noah Penda did not score and German Moritz Wagner (recovering from a left knee injury) remained sidelined.
Turkey’s Alperen Sengun combined for a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds, including his 5,000th career point, along with four steals and three assists, fueling a comfortable victory, 121-95, for the Houston Rockets on the Kings of Sacramento at the Toyota Center. Swiss reserve Clint Capela scored four more points. With Lithuania’s Domantas Sabonis (partial torn left knee meniscus) and Germany’s Dennis Schroder (right hip flexor sprain) stuck on the injured list, France’s Maxime Raynaud produced 25 points. Also, the Croatian Dario Saric did not leave the Kings bench.
Russian Egor Demin reached ten points, while Israelis Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf have eight and six points for the standings. Brooklyn fillets in a victory, 113-103, against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Out of the squad of Spanish head coach Jordi Fernandez, Frenchman Nolan Traoré remained on Long Island. Nets assignment. On the bad side, Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Lithuanian Matas Buzelis had 14 points, but Frenchman Noa Essengue (left shoulder contusion) was eliminated.
At Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Frelons119-104. France’s Guerschon Yabusele, Mohamed Diawara and Pacome Dadiet played but did not score, as did Germany’s Ariel Hukporti, but Britain’s Tosan Evbuomwan was inactive alongside fellow Briton OG Anunoby (left hamstring strain). On the losing side, Frenchman Tidjane Salaun racked up 13 points coming off the bench, and fellow Frenchman Moussa Diabate had two points off the bat.
Playing through a sprained left ankle, Israeli Deni Avdija recorded a team-high 27 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and a steal, pushing the Portland Trail Blazers to a 122-110 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Rocket Arena. The other starters, Belgian Toumani Camara and Frenchman Sidy Cissoko, added 17 and 11 points respectively, but French reserve Rayan Rupert did not score.
The Swede Pelle Larsson won a sprained right toe start for the Miami Heat but was held to five points in a loss, 118-108, to the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Italian Simone Fontecchio finished with eight points, but Serbian Nikola Jovic did not score, Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis did not play and Russian Vladislav Goldin did not score.
Wednesday results
Cleveland Cavaliers – Portland Trail Blazers 110-122
Indiana Pacers – Denver Nuggets 120-135
Magic of Orlando – San Antonio Spurs 112-114
Atlanta Falcons – Los Angeles Clippers 92-115
New York Knicks – Charlotte Frelons 119-104
Chicago Bulls – Brooklyn Nets 103-113
Houston Rockets – Kings of Sacramento 121-95
Milwaukee Bucks – Detroit Pistons 113-109
Dallas Mavericks – Miami Heat 118-108
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 17-5
2. Toronto Raptors 15-7
3. New York Knicks 14-7
4. Miami Heat 14-8
5. The magic of Orlando 13-9
6. Boston Celtics 12-9
7. Cleveland Cavaliers 13-10
8. Atlanta Falcons 13-10
9. Philadelphia 76ers 11-9
10. Milwaukee Bucks 10-13
11. Chicago Bulls 9-12
12. Charlotte Hornets 6-16
13. Brooklyn Tenderloins 5-16
14. Indiana Pacers 4-18
15. Wizards of Washington 3-17
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 21-1
2. Los Angeles Lakers 15-5
3. Houston Rockets 14-17
4. Denver Nuggets 15-6
5. San Antonio Spurs 15-6
6. Minnesota Timberwolves 13-8
7. Phoenix Suns 13-9
8. Warriors of the Golden State 11-11
9. Portland Trail Blazers 9-13
10. Memphis Grizzlies 9-13
11. Utah Jazz 7-13
12. Dallas Mavericks 8-15
13. Los Angeles Clippers 6-16
14. Kings of Sacramento 5-17
15. New Orleans Pelicans 3-19
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
