Daniel Theis manages the second double of the season for the Houston Rockets, and the German scores more points than ever before this season. Still, the Rockets are subject to the New York Knicks. The Phoenix Suns are working on another series.
Indiana Pacers (13-18) – Detroit Pistons (4-23) 122:113 (BOXSCORE)
- Has that ever happened before? Both Indiana (Rick Carlisle) and Detroit (Dwane Casey) had to do without their head coaches, and in the end the Pistons had their 13th defeat in a row. The Pacers, who had run into the wheels the day before in Milwaukee in the final quarter, could thank Caris LeVert that the guests didn’t get another win.
- The shooting guard put up an efficient 31 points (12/18 FG), 16 of which LeVert scored in the second quarter. However, the hosts were only able to break away after the change, when the lead became double-digit for the first time. Indiana also made life difficult for itself, the Pistons recorded 28 (!) Points in transition, although the Pacers only lost 8 balls.
- Detroit never really let demolish like this, but nothing more. After a 12-2 start of the guests, the reservists around Chris Duarte (15, 9 rebounds) and Jeremy Lamb (11, 6 assists) revived the hosts’ game, later Domantas Sabonis (12, 9 boards, 6 assists) also showed up and Myles Turner (16, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks) improved significantly.
- However, the game was not really nice to look at, a total of 44 fouls were called, which resulted in a whopping 58 free throws. The top scorer of the guests was Saddiq Bey with 28 points (9/17 FG) and 9 rebounds, top pick Cade Cunningham came up with 19 points (8/16 FG) and 6 boards. As a team, however, the Pistons only sank seven threes, three each of which were due to Bey and Frank Jackson (18, 7/11 FG).
Brooklyn Nets (21-8) – Philadelphia 76ers (15-15) 114:105 (SPIELBERICHT)
Houston Rockets (9-20) – New York Knicks (13-16) 103:116 (BOXSCORE)
- After four defeats in a row, the Knicks’ stint in Houston was more than welcome, but the New Yorkers had long problems with the Rockets. The Knicks were only able to break away in the fourth quarter, with Immanuel Quickley in particular playing the main role with five transformed threesomes in the section. The Guard finished the game with 24 points (7/10 3P) and thus led the once again strong bench of the Knicks.
- The 22-year-old was urgently needed after starting guard Derrick Rose injured his ankle in the first half and never returned. The presentation of the much criticized Evan Fournier, who with 23 points was the best scorer of the guests for a long time, was positive. The other problem child, Julius Randle (21, 6/18), on the other hand, had more ups and downs.
- The Rockets, on the other hand, quarreled too often with the referees, but still kept the game open until the fourth quarter. Above all, the starting five of the Texans knew how to please, with Daniel Theis showing his best game in the Rockets Jersey with 22 points (8/12 FG, 2/4 threesomes), 10 rebounds and 2 blocks repeatedly tested the quality and stability of the basket system. In the end, however, the German was also lost because of the Rockets’ defenses that no longer existed.
- In addition to Quickley, rookie guard Deuce McBride (15, 9 assists, 4 steals), who repeatedly found Mitchell Robinson (17, 8/8 FG, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks), also convinced. In addition to Theis, Jae’Sean Tate (20, 6/8 FG) and Garrison Mathews (17) scored best in the Rockets. Rookie Alperen Sengün (1, 0/3, -23 in 15 minutes) was a total failure this time.
Phoenix Suns (23-5) – Washington Wizards (15-15) 118:98 (BOXSCORE)
- The Phoenix Suns have also won their 13th home game in a row and thus caught up with the Golden State Warriors in terms of balance sheet. Against Washington, the engine of the Suns Offense was buzzing at full speed again, and the result was a completely safe success.
- The scoring was once again distributed over many different shoulders, eight players scored at least 10 points, the top scorer was JaVale McGee, who scratched a double-double in just 16 minutes with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Chris Paul had 12 points (6/8 FG) and 6 assists, his crunchtime qualities were not in demand this time.
- The guests were only able to balance the first few minutes, after which the hosts ran a 12-2 run with the bank. Cameron Payne (11, 5 assists), Cameron Johnson (13, 3/5 threesomes) and McGee dismantled their opponents in this phase, so that the Suns played out a double-digit lead. Another run in the third quarter temporarily increased the difference to 22, after which the matter was over.
- The Wizards hit almost 50 percent from the field, but remained shockingly harmless from a distance (6/21 threesomes) and only came to the free-throw line a few times in the fourth quarter (12/19 FT). Spencer Dinwiddie was spared, so Bradley Beal (26, 11/18 FG, 5 assists) was too much on his own.
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