NBA
Honorable performance by the national team, which was clearly beaten by Team USA in the final against New Zealand
The national team was competitive in the first part, but in the second they bowed to the superiority of Team USA, which they defeated 109-81 on the second day of the 2023 World Cup. Greece want a win against New Zealand to qualify for the second round stage.
That game was a good training session, a chance for the internationals to test their strength against the most talented side in the world, a night to enjoy. The national team started their attempt on Monday (28.8.) in the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, but was clearly defeated by Team USA (109-81) and lost 1-1 after the second round of the 2023 World Cup.
Now our representative group needs a win in the final against New Zealand (30/8, 15:40) to qualify for the second round, where they face Lithuania from Jonas Valanciunas and Montenegro from Nikola Vucevic. Otherwise, he’ll have to play for places 17-32 in the event of a loss to the Tall Blacks.
Giorgos Papagiannis was magical in the first half, Thomas Walkup did an excellent job in defense and organisation, Greece had his moments and as expected Dimitris Itoudis started the rotation early to keep them fresh given the crucial game against New Zealand they all needed an overtime to beat Jordan.
As for the Americans? Looking ahead to their first game at MundoBasket 2023, they were less surprised, working on their partnerships from set pieces, showing amazing accuracy from the shooting line and still knowing they had an easy game against Jordan and two games against Montenegro and Lithuania before the knockout matches of the tournament.
The race
With Walkap, Hatzidakis (accidentally declared instead of Lountzis), Papanikolaou, Antetokounmpo, Papagianni and Itoudis, the game opened, seeing Greece 6-2, playing with concentration, with good reading and without haste. Brunson’s attack turned the game upside down (10:14 in 5 minutes), both teams played 8:20, breathless, no time-outs, no shots and Greece, thanks to Papagiannis 11 points, was able to last until 19:23 of the first period.
With the second session early in the second, Greece continued to be competitive, albeit up to a point. Bankero made it to 25:37 in the 14th minute, the American defense started to become more effective and Kerr’s rotation worked perfectly. The 25:42 in the 15th minute was tough, but the national team reacted well. With just ten left, there was a chance to reduce the lead to seven, but a miss by Larentzakis kept Team USA at bay.
At half-time, however, the national team had two more baskets, hiding their 2/10 trebles with few errors, but had 3/6 shots while their opponents were 18/18. And that was a huge difference that couldn’t help but make an impact.
Itoudis started the third quarter with Larentzakis in place of Luntzis, but the Americans extended their lead even further (42-61 in the 24th minute) after a 0/4 shot from Antetokounmpo. As expected, the national team coach did not insist on the starters, but opened the rotation very early and began planning the game against New Zealand, which would be the first final of the competition. Hoping more will follow.
THE REFEREES: Conte, Mazzoni, Garcia
THE DECADES: 19-23, 37-50, 56-79, 81-109
HELLAS (Itoudis): Antetokounmpo 2 (1/5 shots, 0/4 shots, 4 rebounds), Bohorides 8 (2/2 threes, 3 assists), Hatzidakis, Larentzakis 7 (3/8 shots), Lountzis 4 (2/5 Shot), Moraitis 3, Papagiannis 17 (7/12 twos, 1/1 threes, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Papanikolaou 8 (1), Papetrou 9 (1), Rogavopoulos 14 (3/4 twos, 2/6 threes , 2/3 shots), Walkup 9 (4/7 twos, 7 assists)
USA (Kerr): Bankero 8 (6/8 shots), Bridges 9 (1), Brunson 13 (3/9 2-points, 1/2 3-points, 4/4 shots), Halliburton 9 (1), Hart 6 (2/2 2 points, 2/2 shots, 11 rebounds, 5 assists), Ingram 5 (1), Jackson 9 (1), Johnson 8 (2), Kessler 4, Portis 10 (4/4 2 points, 2 /2 shots), Reaves 15 (3/4 2-pointers, 1/3 3-pointers, 6/6 shots, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals)
Greece team statistics: 26/46 2-pointers, 7/23 3-pointers, 8/16 shots, 25 rebounds (18 defensive – 7 offensive), 17 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 12 turnovers, 23 fouls
US team stats: 26/39 2-pointers, 9/22 3-pointers, 30/34 shots, 40 rebounds (30 defensive – 10 offensive), 26 assists, 8 steals, 7 blocks, 11 turnovers, 15 fouls
Sportish at the Mundobasket 2023
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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.
NBA
Denver announces Jokic’s recovery from knee injury
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.
NBA
NBA: Miami beat Denver, Cleveland beat San Antonio, Toronto won
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.
NBA
ADETOKUMBO: “Disrespectful. Don’t ask me this question”
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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