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Los Angeles (AFP)
With the absence of Kevin Durant due to the protocols against the coronavirus, the Brooklyn Nets added their third consecutive loss on Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons, on a day in which Derrick Rose returned to the Knicks with 14 points in a loss to Miami.
Kyrie Irving scored 27 points and James Harden another 24 points, 12 assists and 5 blocks that were not enough to prevent the Nets from falling 122-111 in their visit to the Pistons, the last classified in the Eastern Conference with just 6 wins in 24 matches.
The Brooklyn team has not known victory since, in a chaotic episode, Kevin Durant was abruptly withdrawn in the middle of Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors for having been in contact in the previous hours with a person infected with covid-19.
Durant, second leading scorer in the NBA (29.5 points per game), was removed from the team for prevention at least until this Friday, while the Nets lost the game to the Raptors and Saturday to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The recent signing of James Harden placed Brooklyn in the group of candidates for the NBA ring but the performance has not been as expected so far.
The team continues to not adapt to a game with three superstars and, especially, exhibits serious defensive deficiencies, with a streak of seven consecutive games conceding at least 125 points.
“The most important thing is the attitude, the competitive level and the connection. These are things that cannot be practiced. You have to contribute them. And I did not feel that for 48 minutes,” Nets coach Steve Nash told his players.
“We have made too many errors in defense. We were not attentive enough,” said the former Canadian player. “The team needs to challenge itself to figure out what it wants to be.”
For the Pistons, forward Jerami Grant scored 32 points and center Mason Plumlee had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
– Rose opens with 14 points –
The New York Knicks fell 98-96 to the Miami Heat in the comeback game for veteran point guard Derrick Rose, signed last week in a trade with the Pistons.
Starting from the bench, Rose added 14 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 20 minutes of play at the start of his second stage with the New York franchise, in which he already played for a season (2016-2017).
Rose, 32, was thus put under the command of Tim Thiboudeau, the coach with whom he won the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award of the 2010-2011 season in the Chicago Bulls uniform.
In the absence of knowing whether Thibodeau will keep him as a substitute or integrate him into the starting five, Rose was one of the most offensively active players on the team, only beaten in scoring by starting point guard Elfrid Payton with 18 points.
For their part, the Heat, finalists from last season, continue to improve after their disastrous start to the season. Guard Jimmy Butler led the attack with 26 points and 10 assists along with center Bam Adebayo, with 19 points and 6 rebounds.
– Warriors take revenge against Spurs –
On their turn, the Golden State Warriors defeated the San Antonio Spurs 114-91, taking revenge for Monday’s loss to the Texan team.
With 32 points and 4 rebounds on Tuesday, star point guard Stephen Curry added his 12th game of the season with more than 30 points and keeps the Warriors in contention for access to the West playoff spots.
Along with the point guard, forward Kelly Oubre Jr. had 12 points and 10 rebounds and power forward Draymond Green 6 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Spurs figures, for their part, had a discreet night with 12 points from DeMar DeRozan and another 8 from Dejounte Murray.
Results for Tuesday’s NBA matchday:
Detroit Pistons – Brooklyn Nets 122-111
Miami Heat – New York Knicks 98-96
New Orleans Pelicans – Houston Rockets 130-101
San Antonio Spurs – Golden State Warriors 91-114
In Game:
Utah Jazz – Boston Celtics
Portland Trail Blazers – Orlando Magic
Sacramento Kings – Philadelphia 76ers
© 2021 AFP
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