The Oklahoma City Thunder also lose at the Orlando Magic – despite 37 points from Russell Westbrook. Ben Simmons is hacked by the wizards, but still runs a gigantic statline. The Memphis Grizzlies lose their first game after David Fizdale and the Golden State Warriors survive an overtime thriller at the Los Angeles Lakers
After beating the Boston Celtics, Pistons coach Stan van Gundy had the suspicion that his team would not take the Suns very seriously, but it turned out to be completely unfounded. Already in the first twelve minutes, the hosts left no doubt as to who would leave the court as the winner in downtown Detroit. 36:19 was the score after a quarter, Tobias Harris had already 14 points on the credit side.
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And so it went on and on. The Suns had no chance at all and were already trailing in the first half with up to 33 points. Van Gundy was more than happy with his men,”It was impressive how my team reacted after the demanding game in Boston today,” said SvG,”We defended well, distributed the ball well and played with a lot of energy.
Number one was Andre Drummond (13 points, 7 rebounds) with 7 assists, which meant a new career high for the center. The top scorer of the pistons was Reggie Jackson with 23 points, Harris and Avery Bradley with 20 points each. As a team, the hosts lost a strong 57.3 percent of the field.
We weren’t as focused as we had to be against such a team,”said the coach. A bright spot at the Suns was Rookie Josh Jackson with 20 points (career best),”I’m getting better”, the newcomer summed it up logically:”I need a little time, but we as a team have had enough of it” Best scorer was Devin Booker with 22 points (7/8 FG).
In the duel of the crunchy teams, the Magic have gained some air and left the court for the first time after nine games. This was mainly due to a man – Aaron Gordon. The Forward made it rain 40 points (13/23 FG) and with six converted threesomes it showed itself from a distance. The 15 rebounds and 4 steals were the icing on the cake.
“We were fed up with these defeats,”said the man of the day,”and we wanted to get back into the cabin with a good feeling today,” thanks to a 13-0 run at the end of the third quarter. The lead grew to 20 points. But above all Russell Westbrook did not want to admit defeat at OKC. The current MVP scored 20 of his 37 points in the final section.
So Orlando still had to shake a little bit.”I won’t lie. When Russ hit two consecutive threesomes, I was afraid of the worst,”admitted Evan Fournier (16). But it was enough because Elfrid Payton (19 points, 8/10 FG) played a good game. In the first quarter, the playmaker also provided the highlight of the game when he crashed Westbrook by crossover and then knocked the jumper out of the middle distance.
Meanwhile, the Thunder are sliding deeper and deeper into the crisis. The Thunders once again threw under 40 percent against the Magic. Besides Russ, only Paul George (22) and Carmelo Anthony (16) were able to make an offensive contribution. From the second unit only Jerami Grant (9,4/6) was a small bright spot.
Hack-a-Simmons? Yes, it was exactly this strategy that the wizards pursued in the fourth quarter and sent Ben Simmons 24 times to the free-throw line. The Australian had only been able to sink 56.6 percent of his freebies before the game. Against the wizards, it was only 50 percent in the final section. His statline was nevertheless impressive. 31 points (8/16 FG, 15/29 FT), 18 rebounds and 4 assists Shaq had played last in his rookie season.
“I’m not afraid to throw free throws,” Simmons said about the hacks:”Something like this won’t happen often any more, because the tactics of the guests didn’t pay off. With Washington still 22 points down in the third quarter, the score was reduced to less than ten points before the start of the challenge. Wizards coach Scott Brooks defended his approach:”I didn’t make that rule. We wanted to reduce the backlog by all means possible. Simmons’ quota was not good,”says Brooks.
About 200 seconds before the end only three points separated the teams and Simmons left a free-throw again, but the strong Joel Embiid (25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks) grabbed the rebound and gave Philly some air again. Tomas Satoransky scored another three points 11.4 seconds to go, but Jerryd Bayless (14) remained ice-cold on the line.
With Philly, Simmons and Embiid were joined by Dario Saric (24) in a 20-point game. Washington, who had to make do without John Wall again, lost Bradley Beal (21) with a facial injury in the first quarter. After the break, the shooting guard was back again. Kelly Oubre (22) and Jodie Meeks (21,6/8 threesomes) were scored by the bank.
Page 1: Hack-a-Simmons useless – Thunder crisis intensifies over Gordon
Page 2: Rockets march on – Lowry on fire
Page 3: Davis Flies – Warriors Survive OT Spectacle at the Lakers