Another evening with historic signs in the NBA: skyrocketing numbers for Sabonis, Doncic and Jokic

For some time now, the NBA It is no longer a universe in which dazzling is the sole responsibility of Americans. Three players born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean confirmed this Monday that Europeans have a lot to give to the most important basketball championship on the planet: the Slovenian Luka Doncic, the Serbian Nikola Jokic and the Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis.

Doncic added 45 points, 15 assists and 9 rebounds in the Dallas Mavericks’ 131-129 win over the Orlando Magic. This is how it became the first player in league history who scores at least 45 points and 15 assists on more than one occasion: he also achieved it on December 25th in the victory against the Phoenix Suns. And he did it just three days after scoring 73 points in a win over Atlanta, which marked the third-highest scoring mark in NBA history.

The point guard, born 24 years ago in Ljubljana, He made 12 of his 23 field goal attempts (52.2%) and 18 of 21 free throws (85.7%) in a match in which he remained on the pitch for 43 minutes. The former Real Madrid player was very well supported by Tim Hardaway Jr, who contributed 36 points and 8 rebounds. The pair accounted for 54 of Dallas’ 70 points in the second half and 27 of 35 in the fourth quarter.

Additionally, Dereck Lively II contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jalen Hardy scored 20 points and dished out 7 assists for the Mavericks, who have a record of 26 wins and 21 losses on the season and are seventh in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Orlando is off to a 24-23 start, which puts them eighth in the East.

In Denver, Jokic recorded his 14th triple-double of the season ruining Doc Rivers’ debut as coach of the Milwaukee Bucks (replaced Adrian Griffin): He scored 25 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and dished out 12 assists. in the Nuggets’ 113-107 victory in a close game that featured 12 ties and nine lead changes.

“I play for this, to play these types of matches, to play under pressure in hard-fought matches. “I like those circumstances.”, highlighted the 28-year-old Serbianwho last year was the Most Valuable Player of the Finals and is now accumulating merit to be the MVP of the season.

While the work of the former Belgrade Mega Vizura player was dazzling, the Canadian playmaker’s work was no different. Jamal Murray, which added 35 points for the current champions. The Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo He couldn’t avoid Milwaukee’s defeat despite his 29 points and 12 rebounds.

With this victory, the eighth in the last 11 games and the 400th under the command of Michael Malone, The Nuggets achieved a record of 33-15 and they were only half a game behind the Western leader, the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Bucks, with a 32-15 record, are second to the Boston Celtics in the East.

For his part, Sabonis showed enviable accuracy by making 10 of his 11 field goals (total 20 points) in the Sacramento Kings’ 103-94 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. He also had 26 rebounds and 5 assists, which allowed him to become in the second player in history in the league with at least 20 points, 25 rebounds, 5 assists and 90% shooting from the field in a game. The only person who had achieved that feat was the legendary Wilt Chamberlain, who had done it six times.

“(Sabonis) had a monster night. “I’m not saying it’s Wilt (Chamberlain), but it’s absolutely incredible that he’s mentioned in that category for putting up those stats like he did.”, praised Kings coach Mike Brownto the Lithuanian intern, who also achieved his record for rebounds in an NBA game: he surpassed the 25 he achieved playing with the Indiana Pacers on November 29, 2021 in a duel against Minnesota.

Even the escort Kevin Huerterauthor of 17 points on Monday evening, underlined the contribution that the player trained at Gonzaga University gives to the team: “The impressive thing about Sabonis is that he plays hard every night. Eighty-two games. “He always wants to be on the pitch, he sets the tone for us on both ends of the pitch, he tries to lead us to victory with his energy and the way he talks to the guys.”.

With this victory, the fourth in a row, the Kings improve their record to 27-18 and are fifth in the West. In that same conference, the Grizzlies are 13th and far from fighting for playoff access, with 18 wins and 29 losses.