By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
Portuguese starter Neemias Queta led the Boston Celtics to a 114-98 home victory against the Philadelphia 76ersrecording a new personal best in the NBA with 27 points to go with 17 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. “Just the amount of reps I have with these guys every day, understanding what they like and what they don’t like, the game slows down for me too,” he said in a post-match interview, explaining his offensive outburst. Off the bench, the Celtics also received a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds from Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic and a two-point contribution from Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez, although Briton Amari Williams, Bosnian Luka Garza and Ukrainian Max Shulga did not see the floor. On the other side of Sunday’s match, Turkey’s Adem Bona finished with five points.
Matas Buzelis of Lithuania scored 20 points to help the Chicago Bulls end an 11-game losing streak with a 120-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. THE Bulls were helped by Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele’s 12 points, while his compatriot Noa Essengue (left shoulder operation) remained absent following shoulder surgery. THE Deer played without Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo (right calf strain) and his brother Thanasis (illness), while their brother Alex remained in the G League. However, Frenchman Ousmane Dieng was active and contributed seven points.
Elsewhere during the 2025-26 regular season, Germany’s Dennis Schroder scored 12 points off the bench to help the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Nets 106-102, while the Dutchman Tristan Enaruna did not play at the Barclays Center. For the team coached by Spaniard Jordi Fernandez, French starter Nolan Traoré had 17 points, in addition to 23 points from Israeli reserve Danny Wolf and four points from Ben Saraf, although Russian Egor Demin (left plantar fascia injury management) was absent.
Despite the 19 points of German starter Tristan da Silva and the nine points of his compatriot Moritz Wagner, the Magic of Orlando lost 106-92 against the Detroit Pistons at the Kia Center. Orlando was without German star Franz Wagner (managing a sprained left ankle) and saw no playing time for Frenchman Noah Penda or Georgian Goga Bitadze, while Swede Bobi Klintman remained on assignment with Detroit’s G League affiliate.
German starter Isaiah Hartenstein contributed seven points as the Oklahoma City Thunder earned a 100-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. THE Thunder sent Serbian Nikola Topic to the Oklahoma City Blue and kept Belgian Ajay Mitchell out (abdominal sprain/left ankle sprain), while Nonconformists“Recent Greek addition John Poulakidas was away on G League duty.
THE Atlanta Falcons dominated the Portland Trail Blazers 135-101, including five points from Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher. Struggling without Israeli Deni Avdija (lower back injury management), the visitors received 14 points from Czech Vit Krejci and nine from Belgian starter Toumani Camara, while Frenchman Sidy Cissoko played through illness to score six at State Farm Arena.
Frenchman Rayan Rupert scored 16 points for the Memphis Grizzliescoached by the Finn Tuomas Iisalo, in a 125-106 victory against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Both teams were shorthanded, with Spaniard Santi Aldama (dealing with right knee injury) out for Memphis, and Croatian center Ivica Zubac (sprained left ankle) remaining sidelined for the game. Pacers.
Finally, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 137-111, at Intuit Dome, with nine points from Frenchman Nicolas Batum and seven from Swiss Yanic Konan Niederhauser, while Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic remained on the bench. In the defeat, Croatian Karlo Matkovic scored five points.
Sunday results
New York Knicks – San Antonio Spurs 114-89
Brooklyn fillets – Cleveland Cavaliers 102-106
Chicago Bulls – Milwaukee Bucks 120-97
Denver Nuggets – Minnesota Timberwolves 108-117
Indiana Pacers – Memphis Grizzlies 106-125
Atlanta Falcons – Portland Trail Blazers 135-101
Boston Celtics – Philadelphia 76ers 114-98
Magic of Orlando – Detroit Pistons 92-106
Dallas Mavericks – Oklahoma City Thunder 87-100
Los Angeles Clippers – New Orleans Pelicans 137-117
Los Angeles Lakers – Kings of Sacramento 128-104
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 45-14
2. Boston Celtics 40-20
3. New York Knicks 39-22
4. Cleveland Cavaliers 38-24
5. Toronto Raptors 35-25
6. Philadelphia 76ers 33-27
7. Miami Heat 32-29
8. Magic of Orlando 31-28
9. Atlanta Falcons 31-31
10. Charlotte Frelons 30-31
11. Milwaukee Bucks 26-33
12. Chicago Bulls 25-36
13. Wizards of Washington 16-43
14. Brooklyn Tenderloins 15-45
15. Indiana Pacers 15-46
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 47-15
2. San Antonio Spurs 43-17
3. Houston Rockets 37-22
4. Minnesota Timberwolves 38-23
5. Denver Nuggets 37-24
6. Los Angeles Lakers 36-24
7. Phoenix Suns 34-26
8. Warriors of the Golden State 31-29
9. Los Angeles Clippers 28-31
10. Portland Trail Blazers 29-33
11. Memphis Grizzlies 23-36
12. Dallas Mavericks 21-39
13. New Orleans Pelicans 19-43
14. Utah Jazz 18-42
15. Kings of Sacramento 14-48
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
