NBA

NBA: Pistons end Thunder's winning streak

By Sports Desk January 29, 2024 615

Jalen Duren scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons ended the Oklahoma City Thunder's five-game winning streak with a surprising 120-104 victory on Sunday.

Duren finished 9 of 13 from the field and added six assists to lead Detroit, which owns the NBA's worst record, to just its sixth win of the season. Jaden Ivey compiled 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a game the Pistons held out leading scorer Cade Cunningham for injury management reasons. 

The Thunder entered the contest with a half-game lead over Minnesota for first place in the Western Conference, but went just 4 of 14 from 3-point range in the second half while shooting 39.1 per cent overall over the final two quarters.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced Oklahoma City with 31 points, while Jalen Williams had 20 in the loss.

The Pistons never trailed after outscoring the Thunder 17-8 to close out the first half, turning a 53-53 tie into a 70-61 lead at the break.

Detroit stretched the margin to 14 points early in the third quarter, but Gilgeous-Alexander had six points during a 12-4 run that cut Oklahoma City's deficit to 87-84 with under 4 1/2 minutes left in the period.

That was as close as the Thunder got, however, as the Pistons countered with a 13-2 spurt to take a 100-86 lead into the fourth quarter. 

 

Magic rally past Suns despite Booker's 44 points

Paolo Banchero scored 26 points and the Orlando Magic dominated the fourth quarter to overcome another prolific scoring performance from Phoenix's Devin Booker and rally for a 113-98 win over the Suns.

Booker finished with 44 points two nights after dropping a season-high 62 on the Pacers in Saturday's loss at Indiana, but he and the Suns' shooting went cold down the stretch as they failed to hold on to a 10-point third-quarter lead.

After Kevin Durant's jumper put Phoenix up 92-89 with 10:10 remaining, the Suns went more than eight minutes without a field goal as the Magic took the game over with a 21-2 run. Phoenix missed 11 straight shot attempts and committed five turnovers before Keita Bates-Diop's layup with 1:56 left ended the drought.

The Suns went 5 of 18 from the field while being outscored by a 31-13 margin in the fourth quarter, and their four made 3-pointers in 14 attempts was a season low. 

Booker had 42 points through three quarters but managed just two made free throws in the final period, while Durant was held to 15 points after entering the contest averaging 28.8 per game for the season. 

Moritz Wagner had nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and added 12 rebounds as the Magic ended a two-game losing streak and earned just their third win in their last 10 games.

 

Bey's late dunk puts Hawks over slumping Raptors

Saddiq Bey capped a 26-point night with a putback dunk with 1.3 seconds left that lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a thrilling 126-125 victory over the slumping Toronto Raptors.

Bey dunked home the rebound of teammate Trae Young's missed shot to put Atlanta ahead for good during a frantic final sequence that saw three lead changes in the final 30 seconds.

Toronto had taken a 125-124 edge after Gradey Dick stole Young's errant pass and fed Scottie Barnes for a breakaway dunk with 7.4 seconds remaining.

Bey added a season-high 13 rebounds and was one of four Atlanta starters to record double-doubles as the Hawks halted a four-game losing streak. Young finished with 30 points and 12 assists, Clint Capela had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Jalen Johnson recorded 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Barnes had 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors battle back after trailing 115-108 with under 5 1/2 minutes left, but Toronto was ultimately dealt a fifth straight loss and ninth in 10 games.

Jordan Nwora scored a season-high 24 points off the bench to go along with nine rebounds and six assists for the Raptors, who were playing without three key players as forward RJ Barrett, guard Immanuel Quickley and centre Jakob Poeltl all sat out with injuries. 

 

 

Last modified on Monday, 29 January 2024 06:39
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