NBA
Giannis and Tatum, the Saint Valentines of basketball
The Bucks welcome the Celtics in the ultimate NBA derby tonight, and Vassilis Skoundis looks back on the two teams’ timeless dalliance and wonders which of the two prima donnas will beat the Golden Fleece!
Valentine’s Day, today, His mercy is great! Lovers celebrate, he says, and I wonder which of his two lovers is at the mercy of this calendar moment NBA tonight he will have his honor and see the red hearts that surround his mistress!
Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jayson Tatum?
It wouldn’t be out of place for the Bucks and Celtics to schedule this date on such a day as it fits the occasion and puts the two teams in a simulation process ahead of the playoffs.
It’s certainly early for such calculations, but today’s matchup could well be seen as an early trailer for the Eastern Conference Finals, albeit followed by their third meeting on March 30, just ten days before the curtain falls on the regular season .
There is no doubt that due to the timing but also the dynamics of both, this pairing is the most attractive and catchy of this season, maybe the whole season, for most reasons.
The throne, the prima donnas, and… Golden Fleece
First up are the teams with the best records in the entire league (Celtics 41-16, Bucks 39-17) who, as I mentioned earlier, cannot be ruled out… which of the two will ascend the throne of the East and claim the title.
Second, this is another episode in a rivalry that was born half a century ago and has grown and evolved even further in recent years, with the lure of either claiming the NBA throne or qualifying for the East Finals
Third, they face off against two of the best and most dominant players in the league, with Giannis appearing in 3rd place on the scorers averaging 32.4 points and… Jason (Jason) following in 6th place with 30.5.
So far, both have fully lived up to the line that the American journalist Jim Murray gave Michael Jordan in his book “The Greatest Ones”.
“Unstoppable, like tomorrow“!
Just kidding, due to Jason’s involvement it remains to be seen if the eponymous Tatum will follow in the mythological hero’s footsteps and, after 13 years of fasting and prayer (the Celtics) manage to carry the Golden Fleece back to Boston!
Their scrimmage is old, so it’s considered a classic, even if it’s not on the same scale as the Celtics vs. Sixers and Celtics vs. Lakers.
The bitter reply with the Nets
Incidentally, I should point out here that the American pundits were dead wrong with their hasty predictions in June 2021, when in the midst of the thrilling and thrilling semifinal series between the Bucks and the Nets they thought it was certain that the both teams (will) establish a vendetta”for eternity»!
“Pumpkin Legs” as Makis Yatras also says, because in the 20 months that have passed since then, the Brooklyn team has dissolved into its elements, with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Erving scattered in the four points of the horizon!
In the 2020-21 season, the Bucks came back from 0-2 and hit the nets on the canvas en route to the throne that had carried them for half a century, while last year they saw the surrender from the other side: in In the semi-final series with the Celtics, they led 3-2 but suffered back-to-back losses and went to the break early!
Grant bombs in game 7
Given that, their accounts have been open since last May 15, when the Celtics threw the Bucks to the canvas 109-81 in the East’s seventh Finals and agreed a date with the Warriors, leaving the 2021 champions in the rain…theirs Opponent.
If Giannis is asked in the future to choose a match of his career that he would like to play again, this game 7 would surely be one of his main decisions, maybe even the first…
That night, the two-time regular-season MVP “wrote” 25 points (10/26 shooting), 20 rebounds and nine assists in 43 minutes, but on the other hand saw Grant Williams mercilessly bombarding his team’s defense (27 points, 7/18 threesome) and accompanied by Tatum (23-6-8) while tidying up the laundry.
In the absence of the injured Khris Middleton, the Bucks had taken a 3-2 series lead, but the Celtics, who already had home field advantage, had the final say and went into debt for their corresponding series loss in 2019 (1-4).
The Redeem Team banner
The two teams meet for the second time this season, but the Bucks suffer from selective amnesia (sic) because at the Christmas game on December 25th at the Garden, they saw Tatum crush them like squid!
On that celebratory night, the Celtics prevailed with an emphatic and deafening 139-118 (Tatum 41-7-5-3, Brown 29-5-4-1, White 12-3-5-1, Gr. Williams 11- 6-3). -2/ Antetokounmpo 27-9-3, Holliday 23-6-7-2, Lopez 16-5-1-1-1, Connaughton 15-4-3-1) and retaliated for their loss in the corresponding Christmas 2021 game , in which the Bucks won 117-113.
It’s clear, therefore, that the Bucks are looking for redemption after three straight losses they carry under their belt. So hoist the Redeem Team banner and voor in the belly!
Tatum’s Tabladura and Giannis’ Alley-oop
In addition to the two consecutive Christmas games, the two teams also played a pre-season on December 23, 2020 in the (pandemic-delayed) premiere of the league, which actually became a thriller and was decided by a three-pointer with… a Tatum scoreboard from 45 degrees before Antetokounmpo!
On the next click, Tristan Thompson fouled Giannis, who hit the first shot and missed the second, as two narrow timeouts ensued, with Mike Budenholzer switching the rebounder to alley-oop against the Greek superstar.
In fact, the ball reached his hands in stoppage time, but it didn’t do him any favors in the final touch!
Age problems in Volos
Giannis and the Celtics also share an indirect, if ambiguous, yet fragile relationship. By the 2012-13 season, the Bostonians, like most NBA teams, had outpaced Antetokounmpo and their representatives were mushrooming in every Philatelic Painter game in League A2…
Their then president and veteran player Danny Agee arrived in person on April 3, 2013 and traveled to Volos to review Giannis in the match against Niki Volos before the draft process along with General Manager Ryan McDonaghue…
So he sat next to Filathlitikos’ bench, but the spectators cursed him from the first moment because, as he says, he sold the match with OFI!
The Lakers, Lakers yacht and the broom to Byrd
What’s happened; The fans mistook him for a Philathletikos agent and dragged him out of the car because Zografou’s team had been defeated by OFI 79-68 on March 16 in Heraklion and because of this result Niki Volou was relegated to the Second National League.
At halftime, viewers were informed who this unknown blonde was, but they kept booing him, now chanting pro-Lakers slogans!
The merry-go-round of the two teams in the playoffs dates back to 1974, when in the NBA Finals, the Celtics of Dave Cowens, John Havlicek and Paul Westphal naturally prevailed over then-Bucks of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and belonged to the West 4-3 .
The Bostonians also won the postseason series in 1984 (4–1), 1986 (4–0), 1987 (4–3, with a -8 upset in the closing minutes of Game 7 led by Larry Bird and Dennis Johnson) , 2018 (4-3) and 2022 (4-3).
For its part, the Milwaukee team compares their wins in the 1983 (4-0) and 2019 (4-1) playoffs, in fact the first of these is considered historic as it represents the only win the Celtics suffered in Larry’s time Bird!
Oscar and Westphal’s Oscar
In this carousel, the hands of the clock stop on May 12, 1974 in “Mecca” Milwaukee, where the Bucks hosted the Celtics in the seventh NBA Finals, which was held at a personal concert by the late (now 25 months), Paul Westphal…
When Tom Heinson took him off the bench, he gave him the toughest task a player could shoulder at the time. Sticking like a leech to Oscar Robertson playing the last game of his career!
In this season’s playoffs, “Big O” averaged 14.0 points, 9.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds, but “Westy” didn’t care and treated him right!
In the ensuing 31 minutes of being stuck with him, he was held captive and held to just 6 points on 2/13 shots and 2/2 shots while scoring 12 points and dishing out six assists.
The goal of the statement
With these and with that, there is no doubt that tonight’s game is much more than a derby at the top of the regular season given the conditions and circumstances…
This encounter is a back-and-forth challenge, both individually and as a team, with both teams and their two Superstars attempting to make a thunderous statement in all directions…
Also, today is a holiday, so at the end of the night, either Antetokounmpo or Tatum can be passed off as… Basketball Valentine!
Source: sport 24
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.
Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.
Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.
Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.
Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Injury Update: Nikola Jokić suffered a Hyperextension injury in his Left Knee in last night’s match against Miami Heat. Nikola will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/NIDmlKAN81
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 30, 2025
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.
Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.
The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.
The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.
San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.
Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.
Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.
Toronto beat Orlando at home.
Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.
Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.
NBA. Regular season, December 30
Miami – Denver – 147:123 (41:29, 22:34, 47:36, 37:24)
Miami: Powell (25), Weir (19 + 9 rebounds), Wiggins (19 + 6 assists), Adebayo (13 + 10 rebounds), Mitchell (10 + 9 assists) – start; Jovic (22), Jaques (20 + 11 assists), Smith (11), Larsson (3), Fontecchio (3), Johnson (2), Yakucionis (0), Gardner (0).
Denver: Jokic (21 + 8 assists), J. Murray (20 + 11 assists), Hardaway (16), Jones (16), Watson (11) – start; B. Brown (15), Valanciunas (6), Holmes (4), Strother (4), Nnaji (4), Pickett (2), Jones (2), Tyson (2).
San Antonio – Cleveland – 101:113 (26:25, 29:24, 23:27, 23:37)
San Antonio: Vembanyama (26 + 14 rebounds), Castle (15 + 8 assists + 5 losses), Fox (14), Vassell (7), Barnes (3) – start; Harper (11), Cornet (10 + 9 rebounds), K. Johnson (8), Shempeni (7), Brian (0).
cleveland: Allen (27 + 10 rebounds), E. Mobley (16 + 7 rebounds), Garland (15 + 11 assists), Mitchell (10 + 7 assists), Wade (10) – start; Hunter (11 + 9 rebounds), Tyson (11), Tomlin (6), Merrill (5), Porter (2).
Toronto – Orlando – 107:106 (18:29, 36:36, 30:29, 23:12)
toronto: Ingram (17 + 9 rebounds), Barnes (13 + 11 rebounds), Mamukelashvili (13), Agbadzhi (10), Quickley (4) – start; Shed (19), Dick (15), Walter (10 + 7 rebounds), Murray-Boyles (4 + 12 rebounds), Bettle (2), Bamba (0).
Orlando’s: Black (27), Banchero (23 + 15 rebounds + 10 assists), Bane (18), Jones (10), Carter (9) – start; Richardson (7), da Silva (6), Kane (3), Bitadze (2), Penda (1), Isaac (0).
Washington – Phoenix – 101:115 (23:22, 31:39, 25:26, 22:28)
washington: Johnson (24), McCollum (17), Coulibaly (13 + 7 rebounds), Watkins (3), Sarr (2) – start; Shempeny (11), Carrington (10), Riley (10), Bagley (7+7 rebounds), Brenham (4), Johnson (0), Hill (0).
Phoenix: Brooks (26), Gillespie (25 + 6 assists), Booker (22), O’Neal (15), Igodaro (6 + 10 rebounds) – starter; Goodwin (14 + 7 rebounds), Livers (3), Buey (2), Richards (2 + 9 rebounds), Hayes-Davis (0), Fleming (0), Maluach (0).
Charlotte-Milwaukee-113:123 (26:25, 40:38, 23:32, 24:28)
Charlotte: Miller (31 + 8 rebounds), Ball (26 + 7 assists + 6 losses), Diabate (14 + 9 rebounds), Bridges (3), James (0) – start; Sexton (16 + 8 assists), Green (10), McNeely (7), Hall (3), Hall (3 + 11 rebounds), Mann (0).
Milwaukee: Y. Antetokounmpo (24 + 7 assists), Turner (23 + 4 blocked shots), Porter (15 + 11 assists), Rollins (13), Green (5) – start; Portis (25), Trent (9), Kuzma (6), G. Harris (3), Sims (0).
Brooklyn – Golden State – 107:120 (30:28, 27:31, 28:30, 22:31)
Brooklyn: Porter (27 + 9 rebounds), Demin (23), Claxton (15 + 9 rebounds), Clowney (11), Mann (4) – start; Thomas (13), Traore (9), Sharpe (3), Powell (2), Wolfe (0).
Golden State: Curry (27), Butler (21), Dr. Green (7), Moody (4), Post (3) – start; Jackson-Davis (11), Payton II (10), Melton (10 + 8 rebounds), Richard (10), Podziemski (7), Hield (6), Spencer (4), Santos (0).
New Orleans – New York – 125:130 (41:37, 34:35, 28:24, 22:34)
New Orleans: Williamson (32), Bay (26 + 6 assists), Murphy (21), Quinn (7 + 9 rebounds + 6 assists), Fiers (4) – start; Poole (26), Peavey (3), Hawkins (2), Missy (2), Looney (2 + 9 rebounds).
new York: Brunson (28 + 10 assists), Anunoby (23 + 11 rebounds), Diawara (18), Towns (12 + 12 rebounds), Bridges (6 + 10 assists) – start; McBride (14), Yabusele (9), Clarkson (9), Kolek (7), McCullar (2), Jamison (2), Hookporty (0).
Oklahoma – Atlanta – 140:129 (35:38, 35:36, 43:29, 27:26)
Oklahoma: Gilgeous-Alexander (39 + 6 assists), Holmgren (24 + 9 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (20 + 9 rebounds + 7 assists), Wallace (17 + 7 rebounds), Dort (6) – start; Caruso (16 + 9 rebounds), Mitchell (10), Carlson (6), Wiggins (2), Joe (0), K. Williams (0).
of Atlanta: Alexander-Walker (30), Okongwu (26 + 14 rebounds + 6 assists), Krejci (18), Daniels (13 + 7 assists), Risache (12) – start; Kennard (12), Wallace (9), Newell (9), Gueye (0).
Houston – Indiana – 126:119 (30:25, 36:23, 39:30, 21:41)
Houston: Durant (30), Smith (21 + 10 rebounds), Thompson (20 + 8 rebounds + 7 assists), Eason (13 + 8 rebounds), Adams (8) – start; Sheppard (13), Finney-Smith (6), Capela (6+7 rebounds), Okogie (3), Davison (2), Tate (2), Green (2), A. Holiday (0).
indiana: Siakam (23), Maturin (14), Nembhard (11), Furphy (9), Huff (8) – start; Nesmith (14), Walker (12), Jackson (7), McConnell (6), Peter (6), Jones (4), Potter (3 + 6 assists), Thompson (2), Bradley (0).
Chicago – Minnesota – 101:136 (23:21, 27:34, 28:40, 23:41)
Chicago: Vucevic (23), Buzelis (13), Giddy (11), Okoro (4), White (0) – start; Smith (12), Jones (11), Dosunmu (10 + 7 assists), Herter (8), Williams (7), Phillips (2), Carter (0), Terry (0).
Minnesota: Edwards (23), Randle (17 + 14 assists), DiVincenzo (12), Gobert (9 + 10 rebounds + 4 blocks), McDaniels (7) – start; Reed (33 + 7 rebounds), Hyland (12), Clark (11), Dillingham (5), Miller (3), Juzeng (2), Conley (2), Beranger (0).
Portland – Dallas – 125:122 (42:29, 33:34, 22:30, 28:29)
Portland: Avdija (27 + 9 rebounds + 11 assists + 8 losses), Sharpe (24), Klingin (18 + 11 rebounds), Kamara (9), Sissoko (6) – start; Love (24), Ruper (9), R. Williams (8 + 8 rebounds), Yang Hansen (0).
dallas: Christie (25), Gafford (17 + 10 rebounds), Flagg (15 + 7 assists + 5 turnovers), Washington (8), Nembhard (0 + 6 assists) – start; Williams (22), Marshall (17), Thompson (14), Powell (2), Caleb Martin (2).
tournament tables
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo He gave a harsh response to the question about a possible trade to another NBA club:
“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to me and my teammates. I wear this jersey every day.
To say I don’t want to be here is disrespectful to the organization, the coaching staff, myself and everyone who worked hard to get me on the field. Don’t ask me this question. I am her. I’m going out in this uniform. And as long as I’m here, I’ll give it my all until the last second of the match.”
On the night of December 27-28, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player of the game with the Chicago Bulls – 112:103.
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
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