Detroit were made to look mediocre on Tuesday, as they fell to a 103-114 loss to San Antonio. With all of their key names other than Isaiah Stewart, Detroit would have been hoping to leave Little Caesars Arena with a statement-making win, but instead their offence repeatedly faltered, as Cade Cunningham had a horror shooting night. The star guard went a woeful 5/26 from the floor for 16 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and three blocks and Jalen Duren led the way with 25 points, 14 rebounds and two steals. Ron Holland II added plenty of punch off the bench with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but the likes of Daniss Jenkins (3/10 FGs) and Tobias Harris (1/6 FGs) really dragged Detroit’s offence down, as the team finished with a lowly 100.0 offensive rating.
Oklahoma City did just enough to beat Toronto on Wednesday, winning 116-107 on the road. It was looking breezy for the defending champions late in the third, with a 25-point lead on the back of a dominant offensive quarter. However, they went ice-cold from there, as the hosts pulled off a 5-30 run to tie the game at 101-101. However, OKC’s trademark defence came into effect from there, locking down the hosts in the final four minutes for the win. Cason Wallace again impressed as the lead guard, with 27 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and one steal, while Isaiah Joe hit his shots for 22 points and three assists. Chet Holmgren was a little reserved and sloppy, taking just eight shot attempts for seven points, nine rebounds and three blocks, but some valuable minutes from Alex Caruso and Lu Dort on both ends of the floor helped see OKC home.
Stewart is still suspended for Detroit, but it’s not going to matter too much in this contest. Undermanned and on night two of a back-to-back, OKC will really struggle to hold the ball without a clear-cut point guard against the aggressiveness of Detroit’s defence. That will help Detroit bounce back from Tuesday’s disappointment and record an important win.
Toronto certainly made things interesting late in the piece against Oklahoma City on Wednesday, but ultimately fell to a 107-116 loss at home. After trailing 71-96 late in the third quarter, Toronto looked like they were destined for a blowout loss, but they had miraculously tied the scores at 101-101 less than 10 minutes later, setting up a blockbuster finish. However, the hosts fell flat from there, scoring just six points in the final four minutes to suffer the loss in frustrating fashion. Scottie Barnes was excellent on the night, with 15 points, three rebounds, seven assists, three steals and four blocks and Ja’Kobe Walter shot well for 17 points on nine shots. RJ Barrett added 21 points and eight boards and Immanuel Quickley had 17 points of his own to help make things interesting, but as Toronto ran out of gas, their hopes of a win faded away.
San Antonio made it nine wins in a row on Tuesday, making a real statement with a 114-103 win on the road against Detroit. It was a tense opening half, with the scores at 57-55 at halftime, but San Antonio created some breathing room in the third, before a 7-0 run to start the fourth had them out to a 90-75 lead, and they stayed comfortably in front for the rest of the way. Victor Wembanyama was the star again, with 21 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and six blocks to finish a +13, while Devin Vassell went 7/11 from deep to finish with 28 points and four assists. Stephon Castle added 16 points and 11 assists and Julian Champagnie was rock-solid again, with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
This is a nightmare matchup for Toronto, with San Antonio’s lengthy defence set to cause the likes of Barrett, Quickley and Brandon Ingram all sorts of issues. I really struggle to see how Toronto will get going at all on the offensive end in this matchup, and that will set up a comfortable win for the visitors.
Denver couldn’t have been much more disappointing in their performance on Monday, losing 117-128 to a weakened Golden State team. Missing Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porziņģis, the hosts were missing a lot of star power and perhaps that made Denver complacent heading into this battle, as they quickly fell behind at Chase Center. A 27-39 first quarter was not the ideal start, but they rallied in the second half, with a 26-13 run to take a 101-93 lead. However, Golden State replied with a 10-31 run of their own to dominate the beginning of the fourth quarter and hand Denver another defeat. It continued a concerning run of defensive form from David Adelman’s team, with a 122.1 defensive rating, and not even a mammoth offensive night from Nikola Jokić could get them on top. The Joker finished with 35 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and two blocks and Chrisitan Braun continued to find his feet post-return, with 18 points, five rebounds and two steals. Jamal Murray was a little sloppy, however, with 21 points and five turnovers, and Cameron Johnson struggled, going 1/7 from the field.
Boston coasted to another win on Wednesday, beating Phoenix 97-81. This time it was their defence that did the job, holding an undermanned Phoenix team to just a 97.6 offensive rating. An extended 50-11 run spanning across the second and third quarters was when Boston flexed their muscles most, and Derrick White was at the forefront, finishing the night with 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Neemias Queta had a dominant defensive game, with 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks and Baylor Scheierman had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
With Aaron Gordon and Payton Watson still out for Denver, they head into another game undermanned but they will still have plenty of offensive success. Neither Queta nor Luka Garza will be able to do much to slow down the Joker and, similarly, Denver’s defence is going to struggle against this dynamic Boston offence.