Franz Wagner doesn’t have his best night, but still celebrates a win for the Orlando Magic against the Phoenix Suns with brother Moritz. The evening ends in disappointment for Dennis Schröder – and the Detroit Pistons pick up their sixth win of the season
In the shadow of the Championship Games in the NFL, only a manageable program was scheduled in the NBA late Sunday evening and Monday night – but it did have a surprise in store: The Detroit Pistons shocked the Oklahoma City Thunder, the best team in the Western Conference, as a blatant underdog and celebrated only their sixth win of the season in their 46th game.
Center Jalen Duren put in an outstanding performance, collecting 22 points and 21 rebounds (and 6 assists). Jaden Ivey added 19 points, including important buckets towards the end of the third quarter that sparked a 10:0 run by the home side. As a result, Detroit pulled 16 points ahead. The Pistons left nothing to chance in the final period and won 120:104. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points in 29 minutes for OKC, but did not play at all in the fourth quarter.
Wagner brothers win – Schröder loses
Despite a mixed performance from world champion Franz Wagner, the Orlando Magic have won their home game against the Phoenix Suns led by superstar Kevin Durant. Wagner hit just three of his eleven shots in the 113:98 win and ended up with eleven points, eight rebounds and seven assists. His older brother Moritz Wagner had a good 16 points and twelve rebounds, while Paolo Banchero was the Magic’s top scorer with 26 points.
“Mo gave us a lot of extra possessions with his work on the offensive board,” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley, praising the work of the German big man, who grabbed five offensive rebounds. “People often don’t realize how important that is in a game like this against an elite scoring team, that you have extra possessions.”
Durant only scored 15 points for the Suns, while Devin Booker’s outstanding 44 points (17/26 FG) were not enough for the visitors, who only put six points on the scoreboard in the final ten minutes of the game and only sank a weak four out of 14 three-point attempts overall.
Dennis Schröder and the Toronto Raptors suffered a bitter defeat against the Atlanta Hawks, who only scored the decisive basket with 1.3 seconds left to make it 126:125. Saddiq Bey converted an offensive rebound with a dunk after Trae Young had failed with his attempted lay-up. Bey had 26 points, while Young was the game’s most successful scorer with 30 points. Schröder played from the start, but had to sit out the final two minutes after picking up his sixth foul. In the end, the point guard recorded 14 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 4 steals for the Raptors.