The Detroit Pistons won their ninth consecutive victory on Friday to confirm their position as leaders of the East, in a day of NBA Cup in which the Los Angeles Lakers strolled on the field of the New Orleans Pelicans to the rhythm of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and DeAndre Ayton.
The night also saw outstanding performances from Dominican Republic’s Karl Anthony Towns, who destroyed the Miami Heat with 39 points, and James Harden, who posted a triple double of 41 points, fourteen rebounds and eleven assists in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 143-137 double overtime win over the Mavericks.
Pistons keep flying: Beat 76ers
The loss of Cade Cunningham did not cut the Pistons‘ flight, as they triumphed 114-105 at home against the Philadelphia 76ers with Javonte Green (21 points and 9 rebounds) leading a group of six players in double figures.
The Pistons are 11-2 so far this NBA season.
And they knocked off a Sixers team that arrived in Detroit without Joel Embiid and Paul George.
Trailing the Pistons are coach Mike Brown’s Knicks (8-4).
They returned to winning ways at Madison Square Garden after losing their undefeated home record with a setback against the Orlando Magic.
Towns leads Knicks
Karl Anthony Towns was responsible for reviving the Knicks with an outstanding performance in a 140-132 win over the Miami Heat.
He finished with 39 points and 11 rebounds.
He hit six of 21 three-pointers for a New York team that shot 53 times from beyond the arc.
Landry Shamet also joined the party with 36 points and six three-pointers off the bench.
The Heat lost their second consecutive game so far this NBA campaign.
This despite 38 points from Norman Powell and 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Mexico’s Jaime Jaquez.
Thriller’ in Milwaukee
The Bucks had to sweat more than expected to beat the Charlotte Hornets at home.
The visitors took them to overtime, but at that point Doc Rivers’ team overwhelmed them with a resounding 18-5 win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo sealed a double-double of 25 points and 18 assists.
Kyle Kuzma contributed 29 points, ten rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Bucks.
The Hornets surrendered despite finishing with two players with 32 points, Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges.
It was a much more comfortable win for the Houston Rockets, who overwhelmed Tiago Splitter’s Portland Trail Blazers 140-116 with 30 points from Kevin Durant and 25 points, ten rebounds and nine assists from Turkey’s Alperen Sengun.
The Nets, no peace
The Nets of Spanish coach Jordi Fernández have yet to see the light of day in this NBA campaign.
They lost to the Orlando Magic (105-98) in their tenth game out of eleven this NBA season.
Without Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner led the Magic with 25 points. For the Nets, the best was Michael Porter Jr, with 27 points.
Among the night’s other results, the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 124-110 win over the Sacramento Kings, with Anthony Edwards scoring 35 points.
The Clippers ended their streak of six consecutive losses with a hard-fought 143-137 victory at Dallas after going through double overtime.
Without Kawhi Leonard, James Harden dominated with 41 points, fourteen rebounds and eleven assists on 13-of-25 shooting from the field and six three-pointers.
Ivica Zubac contributed 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers.
For the Mavericks, Cooper Flagg, number one overall pick in the last draft, had 16 points and five rebounds.
With information from EFE
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