By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
During a five-game road trip with the Toronto RaptorsSandro Mamukelashvili scored at least 20 points in three of his four outings, including 22 in a 110-98 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center on Friday. Starting and lasting 34:51, he made 9 of 15 field goals, along with six rebounds, four assists and a steal. “He played a lot of minutes every night and he also understood that he could play despite his mistakes,” ” mentioned Serbian head coach Darko Rajakovic in a post-match interview, commenting on the 26-year-old Georgian forward’s recent performances in the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
The Austrian Jakob Poeltl (lower back sprain) is still unavailable, the Raptors improved to 28-19 with a third straight victory. For the JacketsIsraeli Deni Avdija (lower back sprain) was ruled out for the second half of a back-to-back match after an early release on Thursdaybut Belgian starter Toumani Camara scored 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 37:05, Frenchman Sidy Cissoko returned the starting line with three points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in 32:35, and French reserve Rayan Rupert recorded a rebound and an assist in 15:49.
In his best performance since his recent return to action, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis had a double-double of 24 points and 16 rebounds with six assists and a steal, in 30:43, but the Kings of Sacramento fell, 123-118, against Cleveland Cavaliers in the Rocket Arena. Also coming off the bench, Germany’s Dennis Schroder had 21 points, four assists and four rebounds in 31:08, and French starter Maxime Raynaud was limited to one rebound and 9:11. Croatian Dario Saric once again fell behind Doug Christie’s rotation.
Moving to Little Caesars Arena for a back-to-back road game, the Houston Rockets broke away in the second half to win 111-104 against the Detroit Pistons. After Kevin Durant’s 32 points, Turkey’s Alperen Sengun collected 19 points with five assists, two steals and a rebound in 30:23. In 16:28, Swiss substitute Clint Capela had five points, nine rebounds, three blocks, a steal and an assist. For the hosts, Swede Bobi Klintman remained on the bench.
Wasting a 47-point effort from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Indiana Pacers held on for an upset at the Paycom Center, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-114. Frenchman Ousmane Dieng recorded 13:30 for seven points, two blocks, two rebounds and an assist, which shaped the only European performance since his Thunder His teammates, Germany’s Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus sprain), Serbia’s Nikola Topic (recovering from testicular surgery) and Belgium’s Ajay Mitchell (abdominal sprain), were among several players on the sidelines.
Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendonitis) and Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher (left knee bone contusion) remain on the inactive list, alongside College Park Skyhawks regular, Serbian Nikola Djurisic, Atlanta Falcons beat the Phoenix Suns110-103, at State Farm Arena. The Czech Vit Krejci was available but limited to an assist and 5:23. On the bad side, Devin Booker and Jalen Green were forced out early due to injuries.
Croatian Karlo Matkovic produced five points, six rebounds, a steal and an assist in 14:52, helping the New Orleans Pelicans achieve a victory, 133-127, at FedExForum against the Memphis Grizzlies. On the other hand, Spaniard Santi Aldama (right knee pain) was not available for Finnish coach Tuomas Iisalo.
Friday results
Detroit Pistons – Houston Rockets 104-111
Atlanta Falcons – Phoenix Suns 110-103
Brooklyn fillets – Boston Celtics 126-130 2OT (104-104, 118-118)
Cleveland Cavaliers – Kings of Sacramento 123-118
Memphis Grizzlies – New Orleans Pelicans 127-133
Oklahoma City Thunder – Indiana Pacers 114-117
Milwaukee Bucks – Denver Nuggets 100-102
Portland Trail Blazers – Toronto Raptors 98-110
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 32-11
2. Boston Celtics 28-16
3. Toronto Raptors 28-19
4. New York Knicks 26-18
5. Cleveland Cavaliers 26-20
6. Philadelphia 76ers 24-19
7. Magic of Orlando 23-20
8. Miami Heat 23-22
9. Chicago Bulls 22-22
10. Atlanta Falcons 22-25
11. Milwaukee Bucks 18-26
12. Charlotte Frelons 17-28
13. Brooklyn fillets 12-31
14. Indiana Pacers 11-35
15. Wizards of Washington 10-33
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 37-9
2. San Antonio Spurs 31-14
3. Denver Nuggets 31-15
4. Houston Rockets 27-16
5. Los Angeles Lakers 26-17
6. Minnesota Timberwolves 27-18
7. Phoenix Suns 27-18
8. Warriors of the Golden State 25-21
9. Portland Trail Blazers 23-23
10. Los Angeles Clippers 20-24
11. Dallas Mavericks 19-26
12. Memphis Grizzlies 18-25
13. Utah Jazz 15-30
14. Kings of Sacramento 12-34
15. New Orleans Pelicans 11-36
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
