Basketball: World champion Schröder with a strong NBA debut for Raptors
National team captain Dennis Schröder impressed in his NBA debut for the Toronto Raptors and led his new team to a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. At 97:94, the world champion was the best player on his team with 22 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds. Since Kawhi Leonard, no Raptors professional scored as many points in his first game for the team as the 30-year-old from Braunschweig did on Wednesday evening (local time).
“We won’t even start with that,” said Schröder when asked about it. “It just feels good to start with a win. They won the championship in 2019, we just want to establish that winning mentality again.”
In the second half in particular, Schröder directed the offensive as effectively as he did at the World Cup with Germany on the way to the title. No other player had as many assists as him, which should further ease the skepticism of many Raptors fans, especially before the World Cup.
His national team teammates Franz and Moritz Wagner also had a good start to the season with the Orlando Magic. In the 116:86 win against the Houston Rockets, Franz Wagner was the second best scorer of the game with 19 points, only his teammate Cole Anthony was even more successful with 20 points. Moritz Wagner contributed two points and four rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
Isaiah Hartenstein and his Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics in an exciting game 104:108 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The German-American had strong scenes in his 26 minutes and, in addition to seven points, also had eight rebounds and two assists, but was unable to prevent the loss of a six-point lead in the last three and a half minutes. Daniel Theis was the only player on his team who did not play in the Indiana Pacers’ 143:120 defeat of the Washington Wizards.
Basketball: Spurs lose Wembanyama’s NBA debut to Mavericks
Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut, which was associated with great expectations, has been lost. Despite a strong final quarter from the 19-year-old Frenchman, the San Antonio Spurs lost 119:126 to the Dallas Mavericks with their stars Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Maxi Kleber from Würzburg. The 2.24 meter tall Wembanyama was not a big factor in the duel between the Texas teams for a long time and only scored six points after three quarters. In the final quarter he caused great celebration in San Antonio with nine more points. However, his final 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 stolen balls and one block were not enough to beat the Mavs led by Doncic and Irving.
Doncic recorded 33 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and began the season with a so-called triple double of double figures in the most important statistical categories. Irving contributed 22 points. Kleber didn’t have his best night and started the second half on the bench. He ended up with six points, seven rebounds and two assists.
But the greatest attention has been focused on Wembanyama for weeks. With his exceptional combination of size and technical ability, the teenager is considered the most promising talent since LeBron James entered the NBA 21 years ago. The Spurs, coached by legendary coach Gregg Popovich, have already won the title five times and have had numerous stars in their ranks, but never before has there been so much attention for a player. More than 200 accreditation requests were received from journalists in eight countries – that’s the level of the NBA Finals.
Ice hockey: NHL record hunter Ovetschkin scores regularly again
After the loading jam at the start of the season, ice hockey record hunter Alexander Ovetschkin is scoring again with his usual regularity. The Russian superstar scored the final goal in the Washington Capitals’ 6-4 NHL win over the New Jersey Devils – into the empty net.
The 38-year-old, who scored his first goal of the season the day before in a 4-1 defeat against the Toronto Maple Leafs, increased his tally to 824 goals in NHL main round games. The record of the legend Wayne Gretzky, which was once considered unassailable, is “only” 70 goals short of the record.
The roller coaster ride against New Jersey with a 3-0 lead and a 3-4 deficit was Ovetschkin’s 1,500th NHL game – including the play-offs. With 896 goals and 735 assists for Washington, he is now the player with the fifth-most points scorer in NHL history for a club. Only Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic and Sidney Crosby were more successful.
Basketball: NBA returns to old format for All-Star Game
The NBA is returning to the old format for the All-Star Game in February, pitting a team of basketball players from the Western Conference against a team from the Eastern Conference. The NBA announced this on Wednesday in the host city of Indianapolis. On February 18th, the best professionals in the league will once again play four times for twelve minutes, with twelve players from each conference taking part.
In previous years there had been no game time in the final quarter, instead the game was over at a certain score determined by the points scored in the first three quarters. In addition, the two players with the most votes were allowed to select their team from the other All-Stars in advance. It was not clear from the announcement whether the NBA would permanently return to the old system.
World champion captain Dennis Schröder recently told the German Press Agency that he wanted to take part in an All-Star Game in his career. “An All-Star selection would be something crazy, something I’ve always dreamed of,” said the Toronto Raptors professional.
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