Isaiah Hartenstein delivers his best career game against Dennis Schröder and leads OKC to victory.
Basketball professional Isaiah Hartenstein delivered the best NBA game of his career, precisely in the duel with national team captain Dennis Schröder. The German center led champion Oklahoma City Thunder with his career-high 33 points to an effortless 132:101 against Schröder’s Sacramento Kings – and thus also to a successful start in the NBA Cup.
“We just moved the ball, they gave me easy shots,” said Hartenstein, who was the top scorer of his team with 30 points, even ahead of superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points), recorded a strong double-double with 19 rebounds – and celebrated with a water shower from his teammates after the post-match interview: “My teammates made life easy for me,” said the 27-year-old.
Hartenstein tops best score significantly
Hartenstein topped his previous best score from March 2025 by nine points, narrowly missing his rebound record (20). The Big Man of the Thunder hit an outstanding 14 of his 17 attempts from the field (82.4 percent). Two days after the first defeat of the season, Oklahoma found its way back to success with the victory and continues to lead the Western Conference convincingly with a record of 9:1 wins.
On the opposite side, Schröder had a forgettable evening. The world and European champion scored only two points from the free throw line in 25 minutes of playing time, plus two rebounds and eight assists. Schröder did not hit any of his ten attempts from the field.
Wagner celebrates victory with Orlando
It went much better for national team colleague Franz Wagner, who celebrated a 123:110 victory against the Boston Celtics with Orlando Magic. Wagner was the top scorer of the Magic with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists, Tristan da Silva also scored eleven points. For the Celtics, 32 points from Jaylen Brown were not enough.
The Milwaukee Bucks also started their mission to defend their title in the NBA Cup with a 126:110 win against the Chicago Bulls. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo surpassed the Eastern Conference leader with 41 points – 19 of them in the fourth quarter alone. The NBA Cup, the tournament during the season, will be held for the third time. All Cup games except the final on December 16 are also regular season games.