By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
French starting center Rudy Gobert had a double-double with 22 points and 17 rebounds, while Anthony Edwards scored 40. Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Dallas Mavericks 122-111 at Target Center Friday. Despite his performance, Gobert, 33, faces a one-game suspension following a flagrant foul in the second quarter. Italian starter Donte DiVincenzo added nine points and Frenchman Joan Beringer added two. “They’re a tough team. They play hard. They have talent. We knew it was going to be a test, and they gave us a big test,” recapped Gobert in a post-match interview. “I’m proud of the way we played in the fourth.”
“I’m kind of getting the feeling of the game back. I was away for a while, and it was so weird to come back,” declared Serbian Nikola Topic after scoring nine points while the Oklahoma City Thunder overcome the Brooklyn fillets 105-86. German starter Isaiah Hartenstein scored 10 points, but Belgian Ajay Mitchell (abdominal sprain/left ankle sprain) remained out. For the Spaniard Jordi Fernandez NetsFrenchman Nolan Traoré reached 17 points, while fellow Russian Egor Demin and Israeli Danny Wolf were limited to three and eight points respectively. Israeli Ben Saraf remained with the Long Island Nets of the G League.
Elsewhere during the 2025-26 NBA regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks overcame the latest absence of Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (right calf strain) to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 139-118. Frenchman Ousmane Dieng scored 10 off the bench at the Smoothie King Center, and Thanasis Antetokounmpo added two, while his brother Alex was with the Wisconsin Herd affiliate. Croatian Karlo Matkovic scored nine for the Pelicans.
Finnish playmaker Tuomas Iisalo led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 123-114 victory against the Utah Jazzdespite the absence of the Spaniard Santi Aldama (management of a right knee injury). THE Jazz were shorthanded as Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Bosnia’s Jusuf Nurkic both missed the game due to illness and injury, with Ukraine’s Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk remaining on the bench.
At the Spectrum Center, Donovan Mitchell’s 32 points led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-113 victory against the Charlotte Frelons. German Dennis Schroder added eight points, but Dutchman Tristan Enaruna remained on the bench. Frenchman Tidjane Salaun scored three for Charlotte, but the team was missing Frenchman Moussa Diabaté (championship suspension) and Briton Tosan Evbuomwan.
In State Farm Arena, the Miami Heat dominated the Atlanta Falcons 128-97. Swede Pelle Larsson scored 12 points, while Kasparas Jakucionis, Simone Fontecchio and Nikola Jovic contributed four, three and one points respectively, and Russian Vladislav Goldin was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Leaving for the Falconsthe Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher obtained four points.
Finally, the Serbian Tristan Vukcevic scored 14 points before leaving with a hand injury in Wizards of Washington“131-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Fellow European starter, Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly, added 13, although French teammate Alex Sarr remained sidelined. THE Pacers played without the Croatian Ivica Zubac.
Friday results
Charlotte Frelons – Cleveland Cavaliers 113-118
Wizards of Washington – Indiana Pacers 131-118
Memphis Grizzlies –Utah Jazz 123-114
Atlanta Falcons – Miami Heat 97-128
Minnesota Timberwolves – Dallas Mavericks 122-111
New Orleans Pelicans – Milwaukee Bucks 118-139
Oklahoma City Thunder – Brooklyn Nets 105-86
Portland Trail Blazers – Denver Nuggets 103-157
Los Angeles Lakers – Los Angeles Clippers 125-122
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 41-13
2. Boston Celtics 36-19
3. Cleveland Cavaliers 36-21
4. New York Knicks 35-21
5. Toronto Raptors 33-23
6. Philadelphia 76ers 30-26
7. Magic of Orlando 29-25
8. Miami Heat 30-27
9. Atlanta Falcons 27-31
10. Charlotte Hornets 26-31
11. Milwaukee Bucks 24-30
12. Chicago Bulls 24-32
13. Wizards of Washington 16-39
14. Brooklyn Tenderloins 15-40
15. Indiana Pacers 15-42
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 43-14
2. San Antonio Spurs 39-16
3. Denver Nuggets 36-21
4. Houston Rockets 34-20
5. Los Angeles Lakers 34-21
6. Minnesota Wolves 35-22
7. Phoenix Suns 32-24
8. Warriors of the Golden State 29-27
9. Los Angeles Clippers 27-29
10. Portland Trail Blazers 27-30
11. Memphis Grizzlies 21-33
12. Dallas Mavericks 19-36
13. Utah Jazz 18-39
14. New Orleans Pelicans 15-42
15. Kings of Sacramento 12-45
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
