The Detroit Pistons, the first team of the Eastern Conference, beat the first team of the West Oklahoma City Thunder last night at home with 124-116.
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren led Detroit with 29 points. Cunningham added 13 assists and Duren 15 rebounds.
The Pistons won the six of the last seven gamesas the Thunder snapped a three-game winning streak. Detroit led by 17 points in the third quarter and as many as 14 in the fourth before the Thunder cut the deficit to three points with a 13-2 run. The Thunder trailed by four points in the final minute, but Duren hit a dunk in the final 30 seconds to help the Pistons win.
Oklahoma City was not only without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, all of whom have been sidelined since before the All-Star break, but Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso as well. Last night’s leading scorer was Jaylin Williams with 30 steals, while Cason Wallace added 23.
San Antonio Spurs were better than away with 110-107 Toronto Raptors even though they trailed by 15 points at the end of the third quarter.
Devin Vassell scored 21 points for San Antonio, which rallied in the final quarter to record its 10th straight victory. De’Aaron Fox added 20 points for the Spurs, and Victor Wembanyama had 12 points and five blocks.
Brandon Ingram had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who suffered their second straight loss. The Raptors were outscored 31-21 in the third quarter, leading 90-75 before blowing a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Spurs showed more energy when they opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run. The score was tied at 96-96 when Fox hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 6:37 left. The Spurs outscored Toronto 32-17 in the last quarter to secure the win.
Third team in the Western Conference (36-21) Houston Rockets won 128-97 last night Sacramento Kingsand Alperen Sengun recorded his third triple-double of the season.
Houston’s best scorer was Reed Sheppard with 28 points, and Sengun followed him with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Kevin Durant added 21 points.
For the Kings, Russell Westbrook was the best with 22 points. DeMar DeRozan added 15 points and seven assists. The Kings missed 25 of 32 three-point attempts.
Golden State Warriors also convincingly outplayed away from home with 133-112 Memphis Grizzlies.
Will Richard was the most effective in the ranks of the winning team with 21 points, and Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski scored 19 points each. Memphis, which lost for the seventh time in eight games, was led by GG Jackson with 24 points and eight rebounds.
Ty Jerome added 22 points, five assists and four 3-pointers. The Grizzlies were without star Ja Morant, who missed his 15th straight game on Wednesday with an elbow injury.
Golden State is eighth in the West with a 31-28 record, while Mephis is 11th with 21 wins and 36 losses.
Milwaukee Bucks won at home with 118-116 Cleveland Cavaliersand the winning basket was scored by Kevin Porter Jr. in the last seconds of the match.
Porter Jr. was Milwaukee’s best scorer with 20 assists, Ryan Rollins added 18 points; and Kyle Kuzma 17.Milwaukee won its second straight game and eighth in its last 10 games and now sits in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a 26-31 record.
Jarrett Allen was almost a hero for Cleveland, who played without injured Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley. Allen scored 27 points and hit a shot at the buzzer that would have tied the score, but after repeated review of the action the basket was overturned. Cleveland (37-23) is fourth in the East.
Denver Nuggets won convincingly with 103-84 against Boston Celtics, and Nikola Jokić participated in his team’s victory with another double-double performance of 30 points and 12 rebounds.
Tim Hardaway Jr. he scored 14 points, Julian Strawther 12, and Cameron Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas 11 each for Denver, which is fourth in the West with 37 wins and 22 losses.
Denver was without Jamal Murray for most of the game, who left the court after eight minutes due to illness.
For Boston, which is second in the East (38-20), the best was Jaylen Brown with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick White scored 20 points.
(Hina | Photo: Detroit Pistons)
