By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
“I try to set the tone every night, be the best defenseman in the world every night and help the team win,” pointed out French center Rudy Gobert in a postgame interview after posting a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds with five assists, three blocks and a steal, leading Minnesota Timberwolves to a 115-107 victory against the Toronto Raptors at the target center. Fellow starter, Italian Donte DiVincenzo, scored 16 points, but Frenchman Joan Beringer saw limited action. For the team coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic, Austrian starter Jakob Poeltl finished with nine points and Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili with 11.
In a 126-110 victory over the Brooklyn fillets at Kaseya Center, Swedish starter Pelle Larsson scored 16 points and Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis added 11 for the game. Miami Heat. The hosts were without Italian Simone Fontecchio (left groin strain), Serbian Nikola Jovic (lower back injury management) and Russian Vladislav Goldin (G League assignment). For the team coached by Spaniard Jordi Fernandez, French starter Nolan Traoré collected nine points, while Israelis Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf had six and zero points respectively, with Russian Egor Demin (left plantar fascia injury management) absent.
Despite being prone to health issues, Turkish center Alperen Sengun recorded 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in the game. Houston Rockets“115-113 defeat in overtime against Warriors of the Golden State at the Toyota Center, with Swiss substitute Clint Capela trailing four points. With Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis (general illness) missing his sixth straight game in the 2025-26 NBA regular season, the visitors featured Dutch reserves Quinten Post, tallying three points, and Malevy Leons failing to score on Thursday.
THE Utah Jazz spoiled Trae Young’s debut with a 122-112 victory over the Wizards of Washington at Capital One Arena. French starter Bilal Coulibaly scored 17 points for the hosts, who were missing Frenchman Alex Sarr (right hamstring strain) and Serbian Tristan Vukcevic (left thigh bruise). For Utah, Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk did not play, while Finnish star Lauri Markkanen (right hip impaction) and Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic (recovering from nose injury) were sidelined.
At the Kia Center, German Tristan da Silva led the Magic of Orlando with 19 points in a 115-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Other European contributors were Georgian Goga Bitadze’s eight points, German Moritz Wagner’s six points and Frenchman Noah Penda’s four points, although Germany’s Franz Wagner (handling sprained high left ankle) remained absent. On the MavsGreek John Poulakidas was sent to the G League.
In the New Orleans Pelicans“133-123 victory over the Kings of Sacramento at Golden 1 Center, Croatian Karlo Matkovic contributed nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks. On the bad side, the French duo of holder Maxime Raynaud and reserve Killian Hayes had ten and four points respectively, but Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis (left knee meniscus repair) remained unavailable.
Finally, at the Mortgage Matchup Center, French starter Guerschon Yabusele propelled the Chicago Bulls in a 105-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns with 16 points. However, Lithuanian Matas Buzelis (right ankle sprain) joined Frenchman Noa Essengue (left shoulder surgery) on the injury report.
Thursday results
Magic of Orlando -Dallas Mavericks 115-114
Wizards of Washington – Utah Jazz 112-122
Miami Heat – Brooklyn fillets 126-110
Houston Rockets – Warriors of the Golden State 113-115 overtime (101-101)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Toronto Raptors 115-107
San Antonio Spurs – Detroit Pistons 121-106
Phoenix Suns – Chicago Bulls 103-105
Denver Nuggets – Los Angeles Lakers 120-113
Kings of Sacramento – New Orleans Pelicans 123-133
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 45-16
2. Boston Celtics 41-21
3. New York Knicks 40-23
4. Cleveland Cavaliers 39-24
5. Toronto Raptors 35-27
6. Philadelphia 76ers 34-28
7. Magic of Orlando 33-28
8. Miami Heat 34-29
9. Charlotte Frelons 32-31
10. Atlanta Falcons 32-31
11. Milwaukee Bucks 26-35
12. Chicago Bulls 26-37
13. Wizards of Washington 16-46
14. Indiana Pacers 15-47
15. Brooklyn Tenderloins 15-47
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 49-15
2. San Antonio Spurs 45-17
3. Minnesota Wolves 40-23
4. Houston Rockets 38-23
5. Denver Nuggets 39-24
6. Los Angeles Lakers 37-25
7. Phoenix Suns 35-27
8. Golden State Warriors 32-30
9. Los Angeles Clippers 30-31
10. Portland Trail Blazers 30-33
11. Memphis Grizzlies 23-38
12. Dallas Mavericks 21-41
13. New Orleans Pelicans 20-44
14. Utah Jazz 19-44
15. Kings of Sacramento 14-50
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
