By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
Starting a five-game road trip on the heels of a loss of a margin of 55 pointsTHE Utah Jazz removed the Cleveland Cavaliers123-112, at Rocket Arena on Monday. “We just played together, and played hard, played as a team,” Finland’s Lauri Markkanen said in a postgame interview, after returning from his last one-game absence in the 2025-26 NBA regular season with a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds on 8/16 from the field, including three triples. Recovering from an initial left MTP strain and missing two consecutive games, Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic had a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow European starter, Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, chipped in 11 more points after being left out in the team’s last two outings.
Croatian starter Ivica Zubac combined for nine points with 11 rebounds, and French reserve Nicolas Batum added nine points for the game. Los Angeles Clippers in a victory, 117-109, against the Charlotte Frelons in Intuit Dome. The Swiss Yanic Konan Niederhauser was limited to 26 seconds and the Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic (management of a left hamstring injury) remained absent. For the visitors, Frenchman Moussa Diabaté scored a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds at first, but his compatriot Tidjane Salaun did not come into play.
After dismissing the Russian Egor Demin (management of left plantar fascia injuries) and presenting the Israeli Ben Saraf in the G League with the Long Island NetsTHE Brooklyn fillets fell into the hands of Dallas Mavericks113-105, at the American Airlines Center. Available for Spanish head coach Jordi Fernandez, Frenchman Nolan Traoré and Israeli Danny Wolf got six and three points respectively.
The starting center of Boston Celticsthe Portuguese Neemias Queta, was satisfied with 15 points during a close defeat, 98-96, against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Coming off the bench, the Bosnian Luka Garza and the Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez reached six and two points. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Max Shulga and the British Amari Williams did not play.
While Austria’s Jakob Poeltl (lower back strain) remained sidelined, Georgia’s Sandro Mamukelashvili produced eight points for Serbian head coach Darko Rajakovic in a 115-102 loss for the game. Toronto Raptors against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Scotiabank Arena. The Turk Adem Bona did not score for the Sixers.
Monday results
Cleveland Cavaliers – Utah Jazz 112-123
Indiana Pacers – Boston Celtics 98-96
Toronto Raptors – Philadelphia 76ers 102-115
Dallas Mavericks – Brooklyn Nets 113-105
Kings of Sacramento – Los Angeles Lakers 124-112
Los Angeles Clippers – Charlotte Frelons 117-109
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 28-10
2. New York Knicks 25-14
3. Boston Celtics 24-15
4. Toronto Raptors 24-17
5. Philadelphia 76ers 22-16
6. Magic of Orlando 22-18
7. Cleveland Cavaliers 22-19
8. Miami Heat 20-19
9. Atlanta Falcons 20-21
10. Chicago Bulls 18-20
11. Milwaukee Bucks 17-22
12. Charlotte Hornets 14-26
13. Brooklyn Tenderloins 11-26
14. Wizards of Washington 10-28
15. Indiana Pacers 9-31
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 33-7
2. San Antonio Spurs 27-12
3. Denver Nuggets 26-13
4. Minnesota Timberwolves 26-14
5. Los Angeles Lakers 23-14
6. Phoenix Suns 24-15
7. Houston Rockets 22-14
8. Warriors of the Golden State 21-19
9. Portland Trail Blazers 19-21
10. Memphis Grizzlies 17-22
11. Los Angeles Clippers 16-23
12. Dallas Mavericks 15-25
13. Utah Jazz 14-25
14. Kings of Sacramento 10-30
15. New Orleans Pelicans 9-32
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
