August 31, 2020 - The Los Angeles Clippers have advanced to the Western Conference semifinals after winning 111:97 in Game 6 of the series against the Dallas Mavericks. Croatian Ivica Zubac and the LA Angeles Clippers celebrated in the series 4:2.

This time, Dallas was not helped by the brilliant game of Luka Doncic, who led the Mavs with 38 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. However, Doncic couldn’t act alone against Los Angeles, led by Kawhi Leonard scoring 33 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals.

Croatian center Ivica Zubac was also brilliant with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and he also had the best +/- in the team of +32. Namely, +/- is a statistic that shows how much a particular team has made or lost with one player on the court. The Clippers were better than the Mavs by 32 points with Zubac on the floor.

Los Angeles immediately took a 7-0 lead at the start of the game, but Dallas quickly equalized and held on until the end of the half. Moreover, the Mavs finished the first quarter leading 34:29, but the Clippers proved better in the attack for a six-point lead by the end of the half.

It should be mentioned that Doncic was also without his best teammate and the team's second-best scorer Kristaps Porzingis, who is recovering from a ruptured meniscus in his right knee. The Slovene did not start well in the second half; the Clippers scored from all sides and quickly went ahead 23 points. However, Doncic and the Mavs did not give up. The great Doncic took matters into his own hands and practically independently reduced the Clippers' lead to six points with nine and a half minutes to go.

Kawhi Leonard then made it impossible for the Mavs to come back. Kawhi dominated in one-on-one situations from the halfway line. He shot over the guards, and when the Mavs finally decided to double-team him, the Clippers lead hit double digits, and Doncic could no longer act alone. Purely for comparison, Doncic had only two teammates who scored double-digits - Tim Hardaway Jr. (10 points with 4-15 shots in play) and Dorian Finney-Smith (16 points). On the other hand, in addition to Ivica Zubac, who played a key role, Leonard can thank Paul George, who added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Reggie Jackson played a big role from the bench with 14 points and five rebounds, of which he scored 12 in the last quarter.

Ivica Zubac to @Farbod_E on Doc calling it ‘the playoffs of Zu’s life’ - “It’s not hard to have the playoffs of my life because I’ve been to playoffs one time before $ it was not really good... I really love the trust he’s putting in me. I wanna return the favor. and play good.” pic.twitter.com/sxrVr6J7GN

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) August 30, 2020

The Clippers await the winner of the Utah-Denver series. Doncic and Dallas are going home after a superb season. 

Source: Index.hr

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August 9, 2020 - Croatian basketball player Dario Saric was solid in the Phoenix Suns' victory against Miami Heat last night, as was Ivica Zubac, whose LA Clippers outplayed the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Phoenix Suns (31-39) beat Miami 119-112, with Saric scoring ten points in 22 minutes on the court (shots in play 2/5, three-pointers 2/3) and recorded eight rebounds and one assist and one steal. With 35 points, Devin Booker was the top scorer for the winning team, which is undefeated since arriving in Orlando and is currently tenth in the Western Conference.

He ain't missing pic.twitter.com/arbq6OiVMB

— 5-0 (@Suns) August 9, 2020

Deandre Ayton added 18 points with 12 rebounds and Jevon Carter added 20 points.

Miami (43-27), who played without its three top scorers, was led by Tyler Herro with 25 points, ten assists and eight rebounds.

Ivica Zubac contributed to the Los Angeles Clippers' 122-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers with nine points (shots in play 2/5), 12 rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes spent on the court.

Big man with the big jam.@FoxSportsWest | @ivicazubac pic.twitter.com/Zzv4uyBSGh

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) August 8, 2020

Paul George was the best individual for the Clippers with 21 points, while Portland was led by CJ McCollum with 29 points and eight assists. Damian Lillard and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 22, and Carmelo Anthony 21.

The Dallas Mavericks (42-30) outscored the Milwaukee Bucks 136-132 after extra time, and Luka Doncic reached his 17th triple-double this season with 36 points, 19 assists and 14 rebounds.

Dorian Finney-Smith added 27 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas to make up for the seven-point deficit in overtime, and Kristaps Porzingis added 26 points and 11 rebounds.

For Milwaukee (55-15), Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo were best, who both finished the game with 34 points.

The Indiana Pacers (43-27) were better than the Los Angeles Lakers (51-18), and were led to a 116-111 victory by T.J. Warren, who scored 39 points. Malcolm Brogdon added 24 points and Victor Oladipo added 22.

LeBron James, who missed the game against the Houston Rockets on Thursday, returned to the court and finished the game with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

And in the last game played last night, the Denver Nuggets celebrated 134-132 against the Utah Jazz after two overtimes. Nikola Jokic scored 30 points with 11 rebounds for Denver, while Donovan Mitchell was the best for Utah with 35 points.

Source: T.portal

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March 11, 2020 -  Dragan Bender, Ivica Zubac, Dario Saric and Mario Hezonja each scored a combined 59 points on Tuesday night in the NBA.

Gol.hr reports that Dario Bender and Dario Saric played masterfully in their teams' defeats in the NBA on Tuesday night. Bender was the Golden State Warriors' best player in their loss to the LA Clippers, while Kawhi Leonard was the top scorer of the meeting, recording 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists in just 25 minutes on the court.

Bender scored eight of 12 shots in play, two of which were successful from behind the three-point line. He was unmistakable from the free-throw line (5-5). His excellent performance was not followed by other Warrior players, who were defeated 131:107 in front of Clippers' fans.

Recall, Bender is playing his second ten-day contract with the Warriors, and if he continues playing like this, extending his NBA career should be more than sure. Bender was a senior in the 4th pick four years ago, but he didn't make it in Phoenix and Milwaukee. He is currently playing the best basketball of his career with the Warriors.

Ivica Zubac played 20 minutes for the LA Clippers, scoring four points and 12 rebounds.

Dario Saric was also brilliant in the Phoenix Suns jersey, even though they lost away in Portland. Saric spent almost 40 minutes on the court, scoring 24 points, with 11 rebounds, two assists and a block. He hit nine of 16 shots in play, four of them three-pointers from six attempts.
 

The Blazers celebrated 121:105 in front of their fans and were led by a balanced starting five. All five players were in the double-digits, four of whom went for over 20 points. The top scorer was Damian Lillad, with 25 points.

In the Portland lineup, Mario Hezonja received 14 minutes on the court, which he used for eight points and four rebounds. He was unmistakable from the game and scored all three shots in play -  two of which were three-pointers. 

Combined, the Croatian players tallied 59 points and 34 rebounds in the same night, without Croatia’s most consistent national team player - Bojan Bogdanovic.

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February 23, 2020 - LA Clippers’ center Ivica Zubac recorded a season-high 15 rebounds in the Clippers loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. 

The Clippers lost to the Sacramento Kings 103:112 in Los Angeles. Ivica Zubac, the Croatian center in the Clippers jersey, recorded 8 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and one block in 20 minutes on the court, setting a new record for rebounds recorded in a single game this season.  

Zubac was just two points shy of a double-double. However, he has only scored double-digits once in the last ten games for the Clippers. 

Hustle points.

Make that a season-high 15 rebounds for @ivicazubac. ?? pic.twitter.com/8DzsRHZozc

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 22, 2020

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, while Sacramento was led by Kent Bazemore with 23 points, and De'Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic with 20 points each.

Croatia’s best basketball player Bojan Bogdanovic had one of his weaker nights in the NBA, and the Utah Jazz lost to Houston 110:120.

Donovan Mitchell was the best for Utah with 31 points, while Bogdanovic scored 12 points in 36 minutes on the court with a poor shots in play ratio of 3/10, adding six rebounds. Houston was led by James Harden with 38 points and Russell Westbrook with 34 points.

After a long time, Zizic and Saric returned to the court.

The currently worst Eastern Conference team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, lost to Miami 105:124. The Cavs center Ante Zizic scored 7 points in 8:35 minutes on the court for the Cavs after a long time.

On Saturday night, the Heat retired the jersey of Dwyane Wade, a Miami player who has participated in All-Star meetings 13 times and won the championship title three times.

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Chicago Bulls 112:104. Dario Saric played just under five minutes for the Suns, recording one rebound and one assist. Recall, Dario Saric had not played a single game in February due to an ankle injury. Before his injury, Saric was averaging career-low points per game this season. 

Source: Index.hr

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December 14, 2019 - Croatian basketball player Bojan Bogdanovic scored 32 points on Friday night, eight of which were three-pointers, in the Utah Jazz victory over the Golden State Warriors (114-106), while Ivica Zubac was modest with five points in the LA Clippers' win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Utah was able to make up for a double-digit deficit in the first half and finally celebrated against the visiting Warriors. Our brilliant Bogdanovic spent 37 minutes on the court, and with the impressive 32 points scored (shots in play 8/18, three-pointers 8/13), he recorded four rebounds and one assist. The Croatian basketball player evened the club’s record in the number of three-pointers scored in one game. Donovan Mitchell added 28 points and Rudy Gobert had 15 with the same number of rebounds for Utah’s tenth home win.

?| Bogey with ????? made triples for a game-high 32 points ⤵️#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/BUiJaLf2XV

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 14, 2019

Alec Burks with 24 points and Damion Lee with 21 points were the best for the Warriors, who recorded their seventh defeat in the last eight games.

The Los Angeles Clippers outscored the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-117. Paul George led the Clippers victory with 46 points,  while Kawhi Leonard added 42. Ivica Zubac played 17 minutes and added five points (shots in play 2/2), with seven rebounds and one block.

The best for the Timberwolves was Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished the game with 39 points, and Andrew Wiggins with 34.

The king of the NBA on Friday night was once again James Harden, who contributed 54 points, ten of which were three-pointers, and seven assists in his Houston Rockets victory over the Orlando Magic (130-107). Recall, Harden scored 55 points two nights earlier in the win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Russell Westbrook notched 23 points for the Rockets, while the Magic's best individual was Evan Fournier with 27 points.

The Milwaukee Bucks were better than the Memphis Grizzlies (127-114). Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points with 11 rebounds for their 17th consecutive away win. Dragan Bender did not enter the game for Milwaukee. Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 43 points.

Source: Gol.hr

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December 10, 2019 - Croatian basketball player Dario Saric scored 20 points in the Phoenix Suns victory, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 13 points in the Utah Jazz loss, and Ivica Zubac contributed 13 points to the triumph of his LA Clippers. 

HRT reports that the Phoenix Suns defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 125:109 on Monday and Saric just missed another double-double. In addition to the 20 points he scored in 32 minutes on the court, scoring 7/11 shots in play (three-pointers 2/6), he also recorded nine rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

Dario trajo la energía esta noche

20 PTS
9 REB
1 STL@dariosaric | #SomosPHX pic.twitter.com/bfuJVUqScF

— Los Suns (@lossuns) December 10, 2019

Devin Booker was the top scorer of the winning team with 26 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 24 points on his 24th birthday. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 33 points and 15 rebounds. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder was better than the Utah Jazz 104:90, and Bojan Bogdanovic played 32 minutes and scored 13 points with a poor four shots in play from 17 attempts (three-pointers 3/7). Bogdanovic added five rebounds and one steal.

Dennis Schroder led Oklahoma with 27 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 and Chris Paul 16, while Utah's top scorer was Donovan Mitchell, who finished the game with 26 points. This is Utah's sixth defeat in the last eight games.

Ivica Zubac's LA Clippers outscored the Indiana Pacers 110:99 at home. The most credited for the win was Paul George, who scored seven three-pointers against his former team for a total of 36 points.

Montrezl Harrell added 26 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers playing without an injured Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac recorded 13 points with eight rebounds, two assists and one block in 21 minutes on the court. Malcolm Brogdon was the best in Indiana with 20 points.

The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 110:88 at home. Kemba Walker scored 22 points for his team’s win, while the Cavaliers' best was Jordan Clarkson with 19 points. Ante Zizic played three minutes with two misses and no points scored.

The Milwaukee Bucks were better than the Orlando Magic 10:101 at home and reached their 15th straight win. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points for the Bucks and recorded 15 rebounds, while Khris Middleton added 20.

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November 19, 2019 - Croatian basketball player Bojan Bogdanovic was the best for the Utah Jazz in their defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, while Ivica Zubac registered a double-double in the victory of his LA Clippers. Dario Saric's Phoenix Suns lost to the Boston Celtics.

The Utah Jazz lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves at 102:112 at home, with Bojan Bogdanovic playing 31 minutes and scoring 18 points (shots in play 7/17, three-pointer 3/7) to be the team's top scorer. He added six rebounds and two assists. Donovan Mitchell finished the game with 17 points and Rudy Gobert with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

?| Bojan with 18p & 6r with 3 3pm#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/awTR7WsJ75

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 19, 2019

Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 29 points, including seven three-pointers and 13 rebounds, while Jeff Teague added 21 points and 11 assists.

The LA Clippers celebrated against the Oklahoma City Thunder 90:88 at home, with Paul George scoring for the win 25.9 seconds before the final buzzer. 

Montrezl Harrell scored 28 points with 12 rebounds in the Clippers’ win, George added 18, and Zubac contributed 12 points (shots in play 4/8, three-pointers 0/1) and ten rebounds with one assist in 20 minutes on the court. This is his third double-double this season. Chris Paul was the best for Oklahoma with 22 points.

Get after it big fella. ?@ivicazubac is just one board shy of a double-double at the half. pic.twitter.com/6Nc4vqE7vC

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 19, 2019

The Boston Celtics are back on a winning streak, defeating Dario Saric's Phoenix Suns 99:85 last night. The Croatian basketball player just missed a double-double, scoring nine points in 29 minutes on the court (shots in play 3/13, three-pointers 2/6) and recorded ten rebounds with three assists and two steals.

Jayson Tatum led Boston to victory with 26 points and 11 rebounds, Kemba Walker scored 19 points, while Devin Booker was the best for Phoenix scoring 20 points.

The Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Houston Rockets 132:108. James Harden and Russell Westbrook tallied 64 points. And while Harden scored 23 of his 36 total points in the first half, Westbrook nailed 15 of 28. In the second half, Westbrook registered 13 rebounds and ten assists, and Houston increased their winning streak to eight games.

CJ McCollum led the Trail Blazers with 25 points and Mario Hezonja scored one basket in nine minutes on the court and recorded five rebounds.

The New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers at 123:105. Julius Randle scored 30 points for the New York win, while Kevin Porter Jr. was the best for the Cavaliers with 18 points, who also just recorded their fourth consecutive loss. Ante Zizic contributed to his team victory with five points (shots in play 2/4) and six rebounds in 20 minutes on the court. 

In the Dallas Mavericks' 117:110 home win over the San Antonio Spurs last night, Luka Doncic reached his sixth triple-double of the season, scoring 42 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists.

Finney-Smith added 22 points for Dallas and Kristaps Porzingis 18 with ten rebounds. San Antonio's best was DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 36 points. Luka Samanic did not enter the game for San Antonio.

The Milwaukee Bucks outscored the Chicago Bulls 115:101. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and recorded ten rebounds, while Dragan Bender did not enter the game.

Source: Gol.hr

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November 14, 2019 - Ivica Zubac scored seven points in the Clippers loss to the Houston Rockets, while Mario Hezonja scored double-digits in Portland's defeat to the Raptors. 

The Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 102:93. James Harden, who finished with 47 points, was most credited with the Rockets win. Harden added six rebounds and seven assists to his 47 points. Russell Westbrook tallied 17 points and Clint Capela had 12 points and 20 rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard, on the other side, had 26 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, while Lou Williams scored 20. Ivica Zubac played ten minutes and added seven points, four rebounds and two assists for the Clippers. 

Houston has come to its fifth win in a row and eighth this season. They are currently third in the Western Conference. The Clippers suffered their fourth defeat and are in fifth place. 

The Boston Celtics recorded their ninth straight win by defeating the Washington Wizards 140:133 in a game where Bradley Beal scored 44 points and added five rebounds and six assists.

The winning team also featured Kemba Walke, who scored 25 points, five rebounds and one assist, while Jason Tatum scored 23 points, three rebounds, and four assists.

Ja Morant was the hero of the Memphis Grizzlies against the Charlotte Hornets. In the last second, he hit the winning basket for 119:117.

The Grizzlies have thus reached their second win in a row, fourth in the season, and are 13th in the Western Conference. Charlotte suffered their fourth straight defeat, seventh overall, and is ranked 12th in the Eastern Conference.

Morant was the most efficient on the Memphis team with 23 points and 11 assists, while Marko Guduric recorded 17 points with two rebounds. Terry Rozier, on the other side, had 33 points, five rebounds, and six assists.

The Portland Trail Blazers recorded another defeat after losing to the Toronto Raptors 114:106 at home. Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 36 points and six rebounds, while Fred Van Vleet added 30 points and seven assists.

Rodney Hood led the Blazers with 25 points. Double-digits were also recorded by Mario Hezonja, who scored ten points in 14 minutes (1/2 for two-pointers, 1/3 for three-pointers, 5/6 free throws) and added six rebounds.

Other results include the Los Angeles Lakers' 120:94 victory over the Golden State Warriors. The Minnesota Timberwolves celebrated 129:114 against the San Antonio Spurs. Orlando Magic celebrated 112:97 against the Philadelphia 76-Sixers.

Source: Index.hr

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November 8, 2019 - Ivica Zubac was better than Mario Hezonja last night in the Clippers' victory against the Portland Trail Blazers. 

The LA Clippers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 107:101 on Thursday night, which saw Croatian basketball player Ivica Zubac contribute to the win with his second double-double performance of the season. 

Zubac finished the game with 15 points (shots in play 7/12), 13 rebounds, nine of which were on offense, one assist, and a steal and two blocks in 20 minutes on the court.

Kawhi Leonard, who returned to the court after a one-game break, scored 27 points with 13 rebounds for the 900th victory of LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers. Lou Williams added 26 points with eight assists.

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were the best for Portland with 22 points each, while Mario Hezonja played 25 minutes and scored just two points with a catastrophic shot in play (1/9), though he was 3/3 on three-pointers, recorded five rebounds and one steal. 

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On Thursday night, Dario Saric also hit the NBA court and scored nine points in the Phoenix Suns defeat to the Miami Heat (108:124). Saric scored nine points (shots in play 3/9, three-pointers 2/7) and recorded four rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 34 points and Goran Dragic with 25 points. The Suns' top scorer was Aaron Baynes with 23 points, while Devin Booker scored 22.

The San Antonio Spurs outplayed the Oklahoma City Thunder 121:112, and LaMarcus Aldridge scored his season-best 39 points to help his team win the first game after two losses. Danilo Gallinari led Oklahoma with 27 points.

Luka Samanic did not enter the game for San Antonio.

In the last game played last night, the Boston Celtics outscored the Charlotte Hornets 108:87.

On Wednesday night, Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 20 points to the Utah Jazz win over the Philadelphia 76ers (106:104). Bogdanovic scored 20 points in 35 minutes (shots in play 9/18 shot, three-pointers 3/5) and added six rebounds, five assists, one steal ball, and one block. 

Source: HRT

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November 6, 2019 - Croatian Heritage Night will be held during two different NBA games this season, at Madison Square Garden in New York and the Staples Center in Los Angeles. 

The NBA features a record number of Croatians this season, with seven taking the court to be exact. Thus, multiple times this season, we’ll find our players up against one another, which has prompted the creativity of certain teams. 

Namely, after the NY Knicks successfully hosted Croatian Heritage Night last season, which featured Klapa Astoria and folk dancing by Lindo when Mario Hezonja welcomed then Indiana Pacers’ star Bojan Bogdanovic, the NY club has announced the return of Croatian Heritage Night on November 18, 2019. 

“Join the New York Knicks for a Croatian Heritage Night on November 18th against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Ante Žižić! This offer provides special savings off of individual game tickets.

The first 300 purchasers from this link will receive a Croatian Heritage specialized t-shirt! After completing the simple checkout process, share your personal link with friends and family so they can join you at the game,” reads the description of the event,  which you can find more information about here. 

The LA Clippers have also caught the Croatian fever and announced their own Croatian Heritage Night after Christmas when Ivica Zubac faces the Croatia national team captain, Bojan Bogdanovic, and the Utah Jazz. 

“LA Clippers present Croatian Heritage Night: Saturday, December 28, 2019, vs. Utah Jazz at 7:30 PM. Order your tickets online, use promo code "CROATIAN", and receive a Commemorative Croatian Heritage Shirt. We look forward to seeing you at the game!”

Anyone interested in watching the Croatian clash at the Staples Centre next month can find more information here. 

The first Croatian Heritage Night hosted by the NY Knicks saw over 700 Croatians attend, so it'll be interesting to see what the new season brings. 

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