By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
During a night of high-stakes NBA action, the Milwaukee Bucks narrowly escaped with a 118-116 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Fiserv Forum after a potential draw bucket was ruled out following a video review. Milwaukee managed the victory despite Giannis Antetokounmpo (right calf strain) missing his 13th straight game during the 2025-26 regular season. the Greek superstar is set to returnas confirmed by head coach Doc Rivers on Wednesday. His brothers ranged from Thanasis remaining on the bench to Alex continuing his G League mission with the Wisconsin Herd. Frenchman Ousmane Dieng provided six points and two assists. THE Ridersplaying without James Harden, saw a remarkable performance from German Dennis Schroder, who joined the starting lineup to record 26 points and five assists, while Tristan Enaruna remained with the Cleveland Charge.
In FedExForum, the Warriors of the Golden State mastered the Memphis Grizzlies133-112. While Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis (general illness) remains on a busy injury list, Europe’s contribution was covered by Dutch reserves Quinten Post and Malevy Leon, combining for 21 points and 16 rebounds. THE Grizzliesled by Finnish head coach Tuomas Iisalo, received eight points from French winger Rayan Rupert, but remained without Spanish striker Santi Aldama (dealing with a right knee injury).
Meanwhile, a battle between conference leaders took place at Little Caesars Arena, where the Detroit Pistons outplayed a numerical disadvantage Oklahoma City Thunder team 124-116. Germany’s Isaiah Hartenstein (managing a right soleus injury) joined Belgium’s Ajay Mitchell (abdominal sprain/left ankle) on the sidelines, but Serbia’s Nikola Topic had four assists and two rebounds. The Swede Bobi Klintman remained assigned to Pistonsaffiliate, the Motor City Cruise.
Wednesday results
Detroit Pistons – Oklahoma City Thunder 124-116
Toronto Raptors – San Antonio Spurs 107-110
Memphis Grizzlies – Warriors of the Golden State 112-133
Houston Rockets – Kings of Sacramento 128-97
Milwaukee Bucks -Cleveland Riders 118-116
Denver Nuggets – Boston Celtics 103-84
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 43-14
2. Boston Celtics 38-20
3. New York Knicks 37-22
4. Cleveland Cavaliers 37-23
5. Toronto Raptors 34-25
6. Philadelphia 76ers 32-26
7. Magic of Orlando 31-26
8. Miami Heat 31-28
9. Atlanta Falcons 29-31
10. Charlotte Frelons 28-31
11. Milwaukee Bucks 26-31
12. Chicago Bulls 24-35
13. Wizards of Washington 16-41
14. Brooklyn fillets 15-42
15. Indiana Pacers 15-44
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 45-15
2. San Antonio Spurs 42-16
3. Houston Rockets 36-21
4. Denver Nuggets 37-22
5. Minnesota Timberwolves 36-23
6. Los Angeles Lakers 34-23
7. Phoenix Suns 33-26
8. Golden State Warriors 31-28
9. Portland Trail Blazers 28-31
10. Los Angeles Clippers 27-30
11. Memphis Grizzlies 21-36
12. Dallas Mavericks 21-36
13. Utah Jazz 18-40
14. New Orleans Pelicans 17-42
15. Kings of Sacramento 13-47
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
