Dennis Schröder and the Detroit Pistons suffered a defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder around Isaiah Hartenstein. The Boston Celtics had to accept a surprising defeat after nine wins in a row against the Miami Heat.
Without three suspended players (Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland, Marcus Sasser) and the injured Cade Cunningham, the Pistons put up a good fight against the NBA’s best team for a long time, but in the end they lost 103:119 in OKC. The visitors were within four points midway through the fourth quarter, but OKC ended the game with a 17-5 run to record their 64th win of the season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33 points, 10/26 FG) was unstoppable again, and Chet Holmgren (22, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks) had a strong game. Isaiah Hartenstein came off the bench for 23 minutes and contributed five points (2/6), eight rebounds and six assists. On the other side, Dennis Schröder (15, 6/18, 7 assists) had problems with the Thunder’s physical defense, with Tim Hardaway Jr. (23, 5/9 3P) being the top scorer. Despite the loss, the Pistons remain fifth in the East, but are now only half a game ahead of the Bucks.
The Heat had lost ten games in a row, but now Miami has won six in a row instead. Boston was missing three rotation players – Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson and Kevin Love – but Tyler Herro (25, 7/18, 9 assists) and Bam Adebayo (21) stepped up to the plate. Kyle Anderson (19) was able to distinguish himself coming off the bench.
Boston, on the other hand, was almost always trailing, with Miami leading by as many as 22 points shortly after the break. A 16-1 run by the Celtics got the hosts back into the game, but Boston ran out of steam in the fourth quarter. Only 28 percent of the three-pointers (12/43) fell, and Jayson Tatum (16, 4/17) in particular did not have a good evening. So Jaylen Brown (24) was the best scorer for the champions, who are now five games behind Cleveland again.
Cavs take a big step towards the top seed
The Cavs won the top game against the New York Knicks by a clear margin. The second half was won 71:45, after the guests were up to 15 points ahead in the first half. New York only scored one three after the break, while Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell (27, 10/18) turned up. Jarrett Allen (21, 10/11, 8 rebounds) missed just a single shot, while on the Knicks’ side, Karl-Anthony Towns (25, 13 rebounds, 7 TO) and O.G. Anunoby (23, 5/8 three-pointers) were the most prolific scorers.
NBA: This is how it stands in the conferences
The Denver Nuggets gave away the game against San Antonio less than 20 hours after the double OT thriller against Minnesota. The entire starting five around Nikola Jokic was spared, so Russell Westbrook (30, 11/25, 11 rebounds) was allowed to let off steam after his blunders against the Wolves. Jalen Pickett (17, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) even managed a triple-double, but San Antonio prevailed thanks to their better bench.
The Dallas Mavericks beat Atlanta, with Anthony Davis sinking the game-winner. Read more about it here.
