By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
Among the multiple overtime battles on Sunday, the Houston Rockets fought their way out of an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and won 117-113 on the Magic of Orlando after five more minutes at the Toyota Center. Turkey’s Alperen Sengun scored 30 points with 11/31 from the field, grabbed seven of his 12 rebounds in overtime, distributed eight assists and recorded two blocks.
“We talk a lot during the game, before the game. We trust each other a lot. We know what we can bring to this team, and we can finish well and win the game. It’s just good. It’s going to get better and better,” the 23-year-old center mentioned in a postgame press conference, describing his relationship with Kevin Durant, as the 37-year-old combo forward scored a game-high 35 points.
On the other hand, the Swiss Clint Capela did not play for the team coached by Ime Udoka. For the Magic, Germany’s Franz Wagner recorded a team-high 29 points, with fellow German starter Tristan da Silva at 13, Georgian reserve Goga Bitadze at four, France’s Noah Penda on the bench and Germany’s Moritz Wagner (recovering from a left knee injury) on the sidelines.
After two more periods at the Delta Center, the Utah Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls150-147. Finnish Lauri Markkanen scored 47 points, while his European compatriots, Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk with ten points and Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic with five points and 14 rebounds. On the bad side, Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Lithuanian Matas Buzelis finished with 18 points, but Frenchman Noa Essengue remained on the bench.
Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher was forced into an early exit with a bruised left hip after scoring 15 points in 26 minutes, but the Atlanta Falcons rallied from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge the Phoenix Suns124-122, in the mortgage correspondence center. Czech Vit Krejci scored seven points, but Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (right knee soreness) sat out while Serbian Nikola Djurisic and Spaniard Eli Ndiaye were also inactive.
Despite the absence of French superstar Victor Wembanyama (left calf tightness), the San Antonio Spurs mastered the Kings of Sacramento123-110, at Frost Bank Center. Coming off the bench, Pole Jeremy Sochan scored 11 points with 4/5 field goals. On the bad side, Lithuanian starter Domantas Sabonis had a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, and German reserve Dennis Schroder dropped 22 points, but Croatian Dario Saric and Frenchman Maxime Raynaud did not play.
Queta, Fernandez, Avdija
At TD Garden, Portugal’s Neemias Queta scored 14 points and Bosnia’s Luka Garza scored 13 points for the match. Boston Celtics in a victory, 121-118, against the Los Angeles Clippers. On the other hand, Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez did not play, while Briton Amari Williams and Ukrainian Max Shulga remained out of the lineup. On the losing side, Croatian Ivica Zubac had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic reached 11 points and Frenchman Nicolas Batum scored six points, but Swiss Yanic Konan Niederhauser remained on the bench.
Meanwhile, Spaniard Jordi Fernandez achieved a rare victory in the 2025-26 NBA regular season, guiding the Brooklyn fillets to a 129-106 victory over the Wizards of Washington in the Capital One Arena. With Frenchman Nolan Traoré, alongside Israelis Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf, on a G League mission with Long Island NetsEuropean participation was limited to Russian Egor Demin with five points and five assists.
On the wrong side of the battle of struggling teams, Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly returned from a bruised left calf with six points, four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Compatriot Alex Sarr scored nine points, while Switzerland’s Kyshawn George had a team-high 29 points on 9/16 shooting from the field, including five three-pointers. Serbian reserve Tristan Vukcevic had two points.
Israeli Deni Avdija scored 29 points but committed a foul, and the Portland Trail Blazers fell into the hands of Dallas Mavericks138-133, in overtime at the American Airlines Center. “Unfortunately, we are currently learning of losses. » » declared his fellow starter, Belgian Toumani Camara, after achieving a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. French reserves Sidy Cissoko and Rayan Rupert went from one point in 11 minutes to four minutes without a goal.
Dutch Quinten Post had four points and seven rebounds Warriors of the Golden State I walked past the New Orleans Pelicans124-106, at the Smoothie King Center. For the hosts, Croatian Karlo Matkovic had four points, three assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Sunday results
Boston Celtics – Los Angeles Clippers 121-118
San Antonio Spurs – Kings of Sacramento 123-110
Wizards of Washington – Brooklyn Nets 106-129
Houston Rockets – Magic of Orlando 117-113 overtime (102-102)
New Orleans Pelicans – Warriors of the Golden State 106-124
Dallas Mavericks – Portland Trail Blazers 138-133 overtime (118-118)
Phoenix Suns – Atlanta Falcons 122-124
Utah Jazz – Chicago Bulls 150-147 2OT (136-136, 127-127)
Ranking
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 11-2
2. New York Knicks 8-4
3. Cleveland Cavaliers 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
4. Atlanta Falcons 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
5. Toronto Raptors 8-5
6. Philadelphia 76ers 7-5
7. Milwaukee Bucks 8-6
8. Miami Heat 7-6
9. Boston Celtics 7-7
10. Magic of Orlando 7-7
11. Chicago Bulls 6-6
12. Charlotte Frelons 4-9
13. Brooklyn Tenderloins 2-11
14. Indiana Pacers 1-12
15. Wizards of Washington 1-12
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 13-1
2. Denver Nuggets 10-2
3. Houston Rockets 9-3
4. Los Angeles Lakers 10-4
5. San Antonio Spurs 9-4
6. Minnesota Timberwolves 8-5
7. Golden State Warriors 9-6
8. Phoenix Suns 8-6
9. Portland Trail Blazers 6-7
10. Utah Jazz 5-8
11. Los Angeles Clippers 4-9
12. Dallas Mavericks 4-10
13. Memphis Grizzlies 4-10
14. Kings of Sacramento 3-11
15. New Orleans Pelicans 2-11
-The top 6 teams in each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth in each conference advance to the Play-Ins
