By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
In a dominant 131-99 victory for the Charlotte Frelons at United Center, Lithuanian rookie Matas Buzelis stood out for the Chicago Bullsrecording a career-high 32 points. Among other European talents on Tuesday, Frenchman Guerschon Yabusele scored 11 points for Chicago, while his French teammate Noa Essengue (left shoulder surgery) remained out. On the winning side, Frenchman Moussa Diabaté returned from a four-match league suspension to score nine points. However, the Frenchman Tidjane Salaun and the British Tosan Evbuomwan were on assignment in the G League with the Greensboro Swarm affiliate.
“We’re trying to find some good looks, because our offense didn’t settle down early, but our defense kept us in the game,” noted Portuguese starter Neemias Queta in a postgame interview, after posting a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Boston Celtics stifled the Phoenix Suns 97-81 at the Mortgage Correspondence Center. Montenegro’s Nikola Vucevic added eight points, while Bosnian Luka Garza and Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez added three and two points, respectively. Ukrainian Max Shulga and British Amari Williams were assigned to Maine Celtics.
Elsewhere during the 2025-26 NBA regular season, Frenchman Rudy Gobert had a double-double of 10 points and 19 rebounds, and fellow starter Italian Donte DiVincenzo scored 19 points as the season’s best player. Minnesota Timberwolves removed the Portland Trail Blazers119-115, at the Moda Center, but Frenchwoman Joan Beringer remained on the bench. Without Israeli Deni Avdija (lower back injury management), the hosts featured Belgian holder Toumani Camara with 11 points, while Czech Vit Krejci and Frenchman Sidy Cissoko finished with eight and three points respectively.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Toronto Raptors 116-107 at Scotiabank Arena despite Belgian Ajay Mitchell (abdominal sprain/left ankle) remaining among several players unavailable. German starting center Isaiah Hartenstein had 11 points and Serbian guard Nikola Topic added three. On the RaptorsFor the Serbian Darko Rajakovic, the Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili collected three points while the Austrian Jakob Poeltl (management of microtraumas in the lower back) was absent.
THE Cleveland Cavaliers earned a 109-94 victory over the New York Knicks at the Rocket Arena. German Dennis Schroder scored three points, while Dutchman Tristan Enaruna scored for the Cleveland Charge. The visitors saw five-point efforts from British starter OG Anunoby and Frenchman Mohamed Diawara. Pole Jeremy Sochan and German Ariel Hukporti remained scoreless, and Frenchman Pacome Dadiet was with Westchester. Knicks.
At the Barclays Center, the Dallas Mavericks overcome the Brooklyn fillets 123-114. Under the guidance of Spanish head coach Jordi Fernandez, the Nets received 11 points from two European starters, Frenchman Nolan Traoré and Russian Egor Demin, with eight and three respectively. Israeli Danny Wolf scored four points, while his compatriot Ben Saraf remained with the Long Island Nets.
Without the Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (general illness), THE Warriors of the Golden State fell 113-109 against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Croatian Karlo Matkovic contributed 10 points for the Pels, while Dutchman Quinten Post had six for Golden Statewith fellow Dutchman Malevy Leon remaining on the bench.
THE Atlanta Falcons beat the Wizards of Washington 119-98, supported by the nine points of Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher. For Washington at State Farm Arena, Serbia Tristan Vukcevic (right hand bruise) returned to score five points alongside his fellow starter, Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly, eight, although Frenchman Alex Sarr (right hamstring strain) remained on the sidelines.
Finally, the Philadelphia 76ers won 135-114 against the Indiana Pacers with Adem Bona of Turkiye contributing six points. The hosts at Gainbridge Fieldhouse once again missed Ivica Zubac (sprained left ankle).
Tuesday results
Indiana Pacers – Philadelphia 76ers 114-135
Atlanta Falcons – Wizards of Washington 119-98
Brooklyn Nets – Dallas Mavericks 114-123
Toronto Raptors – Oklahoma City Thunder 107-116
Cleveland Cavaliers -New York Knicks 109-94
Chicago Bulls – Charlotte Frelons 99-131
Milwaukee Bucks – Miami Heat 128-117
New Orleans Pelicans – Golden State Warriors 113-109
Phoenix Suns – Boston Celtics 81-97
Portland Trail Blazers – Minnesota Timberwolves 121-124
Los Angeles Lakers – Magic of Orlando 109-110
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 42-14
2. Boston Celtics 38-19
3. New York Knicks 37-22
4. Cleveland Cavaliers 37-22
5. Toronto Raptors 34-24
6. Philadelphia 76ers 32-26
7. Magic of Orlando 31-26
8. Miami Heat 31-28
9. Atlanta Falcons 29-31
10. Charlotte Hornets 28-31
11. Milwaukee Bucks 25-31
12. Chicago Bulls 24-35
13. Wizards of Washington 16-41
14. Brooklyn Tenderloins 15-42
15. Indiana Pacers 15-44
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 45-14
2. San Antonio Spurs 41-16
3. Houston Rockets 35-21
4. Denver Nuggets 36-22
5. Minnesota Wolves 36-23
6. Los Angeles Lakers 34-23
7. Phoenix Suns 33-26
8. Golden State Warriors 30-28
9. Portland Trail Blazers 28-31
10. Los Angeles Clippers 27-30
11. Memphis Grizzlies 21-35
12. Dallas Mavericks 21-36
13. Utah Jazz 18-40
14. New Orleans Pelicans 17-42
15. Kings of Sacramento 13-46
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
