The Golden State Warriors don’t give up even in the capital and turn up again in the third quarter. The Houston Rockets also win their 14th. Play in a row. The Celtics celebrate a convincing blowout, while the Pelicans also surprise in San Antonio.
The pistons are still alive and this was due to an outstanding frontcourt against the Bucks. 56 points were scored by the hosts in the Zone (Milwaukee: 36), the decisive factor in this match.”Our numerous cuts ensured that their center had to help,” said a satisfied Stan Van Gundy.
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Especially Drummond (15,16 Rebounds) was once again a beast and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds. The pistons collected a total of 22 of their own misses and won the duel under the boards with 57:35. Moreland also played a part in this, scoring 10 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in 21 minutes, making him probably the best game of his career.
It didn’t matter that the litter of Blake Griffin (8,3/10 FG) didn’t want to fall. Instead, the new star of the pistons gave the playmaker and distributed 7 assists. Stanley Johnson (19) only came from the bank this time, James Ennis III was allowed to take off on the wing for him.
After a balanced start, only the hosts played and led with up to 32 points. Milwaukee disappointed all along the line, including Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek did not take place at all and ended the game with a meager 11 points (5/13 FG) and 3 boards. Khris Middleton (17.3/10 FG) and Eric Bledsoe (19) were the best scorers of the Bucks, who only threw 38.4 percent out of the field.
That was partly a bit too casual, what the Raptors organized at the beginning in Orlando. The hosts got off to a good start and gave the Eastern Conference leader 37 points (16/21 FG) in the first quarter. It’s just that Toronto threw the same odds and scuttled seven threesomes for a total of 42 points.
So it went back and forth into the final quarter, before the Canadians increased their intensity once again and gained a two-digit lead in the middle of the fourth quarter with a 13:2 run, which they did not give any more. All these points were scored by reservists, the starters only had to rock the thing home.
“At the end of the day, we took another gear up,”said Kyle Lowry (17.11 Assists),”It was a long night for us before that,” coach Dwane Casey was able to rely on the breadth of the squad once again. Jakob Pöltl (13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) did such a good job in 29 minutes that Jonas Valanciunas had to stay on the bench.
Best scorer of the Raptors was again DeMar DeRozan with 21 points. This honour was due to the hosts Evan Fournier (17) and Mario Henzonja (5/7 FG), with seven Magic players scoring double-digit. Aaron Gordon (11,10 Rebounds) also got a double-double.
It wasn’t the evening of Dennis Schröder, who was left without points in the first half, but in the defence, who was running out of points,”I wanted to take on responsibility and that started with my defense,”said Schröder, who was able to book 5 Steals. The Hawks generally played one of their best games at the far end of the court and forced Pacers to lose 24 balls.
In the third quarter, Atlanta held up to 15 points and extended the lead to 23 points. But the Pacers came back again in the fourth quarter thanks to four three-way from Bojan Bogdanovic (26) and suddenly it was 99:101 from Pacers’ point of view. But then Schröder finally beat Schröder, who countered with two layups and scored seven of the last eight points of the Hawks.
The German finished the game with 14 points (4/13 FG) and 5 assists. In addition, John Collins (16.7 Rebounds) and Dewayne Dedmon (15.9 Rebounds, 4 Blocks) were pleased. For Indiana, Victor Oladipo scored 22 points and robbed the Hawks six times. Lance Stephenson sprinkled 18 points and 6 rebounds coming from the bank.
Page 1: Pistons send life signs – Schröder clutch
Page 2: Celtics-Offense clicks – Dubs put Beal on the chain
Page 3: Pels dupe Spurs – Rockets win more