Pistons, Suns Meet In Motor City
The Detroit Pistons will host the Phoenix Suns at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.
The Pistons (10-31) are coming off a 103-87 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday. Trey Lyles had an impressive performance to lead the Pistons off the bench, as he ended with 21 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Cade Cunningham and Hamidou Diallo produced matching 18-point tallies. While the rookie point guard also added seven rebounds and five assists, Diallo also produced six boards, two steals and a block. Saddiq Bey had 15 points and four rebounds, and Josh Jackson ended with 13 points off the bench. Detroit has gone 7-13 at home.
The Suns (32-9) are coming off a 112-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, and they will remain on the road Sunday. Deandre Ayton was the best player for the Suns and led the team with a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double that also included two steals. Devin Booker finished with a team-high 35 points, and he also produced four rebounds and three assists. Chris Paul had 12 points and nine assists while also adding three boards and two steals. No other Suns player scored in double digits except Cameron Payne, who ended with 11 points and five assists off the bench. Phoenix owns a 15-4 record on the road.
The Pistons (10-31) are coming off a 103-87 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday. Trey Lyles had an impressive performance to lead the Pistons off the bench, as he ended with 21 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Cade Cunningham and Hamidou Diallo produced matching 18-point tallies. While the rookie point guard also added seven rebounds and five assists, Diallo also produced six boards, two steals and a block. Saddiq Bey had 15 points and four rebounds, and Josh Jackson ended with 13 points off the bench. Detroit has gone 7-13 at home.
The Suns (32-9) are coming off a 112-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, and they will remain on the road Sunday. Deandre Ayton was the best player for the Suns and led the team with a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double that also included two steals. Devin Booker finished with a team-high 35 points, and he also produced four rebounds and three assists. Chris Paul had 12 points and nine assists while also adding three boards and two steals. No other Suns player scored in double digits except Cameron Payne, who ended with 11 points and five assists off the bench. Phoenix owns a 15-4 record on the road.
Kings Host Rockets in Second Straight Contest
By Dan Bruno
The Sacramento Kings play host to the Houston Rockets at Golden 1 Center on Sunday evening.
This marks the second of back-to-back contests between the Kings (18-27) and the Rockets (12-32) in Sacramento, after the Kings came away with the home win in their first meeting, on Friday.
The Rockets got out to a good start in the contest and led, 40-31, after one quarter, but the Kings turned it up in the second and outscored the visitors by 14 points, to take a five-point lead by halftime. The Kings kept the edge through the third quarter and closed strong to secure the win. De'Aaron Fox led the way in the win, with 27 points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Marvin Bagley totaled 26 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, and Buddy Hield chipped in 19 points. On the other side, Christian Wood led the Rockets with 26 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. Jae'Sean Tate tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block, while Kevin Porter Jr. and Eric Gordon added 16 points each.
The Rockets will hope to bounce back and build on their, 5-19, road record, but the Kings have the momentum of a two-game win streak, as they look add to their, 12-14, home record.
The Rockets are giving up a league-high 116.8 points per game, while allowing opponents to shoot an average of 46.9 percent from the field. The Kings are giving up an average of 113.6 points per game, which is third most in the league, and they are allowing opponents to shoot an average of 46.7 percent from the field
This marks the second of back-to-back contests between the Kings (18-27) and the Rockets (12-32) in Sacramento, after the Kings came away with the home win in their first meeting, on Friday.
The Rockets got out to a good start in the contest and led, 40-31, after one quarter, but the Kings turned it up in the second and outscored the visitors by 14 points, to take a five-point lead by halftime. The Kings kept the edge through the third quarter and closed strong to secure the win. De'Aaron Fox led the way in the win, with 27 points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Marvin Bagley totaled 26 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, and Buddy Hield chipped in 19 points. On the other side, Christian Wood led the Rockets with 26 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. Jae'Sean Tate tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block, while Kevin Porter Jr. and Eric Gordon added 16 points each.
The Rockets will hope to bounce back and build on their, 5-19, road record, but the Kings have the momentum of a two-game win streak, as they look add to their, 12-14, home record.
The Rockets are giving up a league-high 116.8 points per game, while allowing opponents to shoot an average of 46.9 percent from the field. The Kings are giving up an average of 113.6 points per game, which is third most in the league, and they are allowing opponents to shoot an average of 46.7 percent from the field
Nuggets Host Jazz on Sunday
The Utah Jazz travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Sunday.
The Jazz (28-14) find themselves in their worst stretch of the season, entering this matchup amid a four-game losing streak. What makes that even more shocking is the fact that they won 16 of their previous 19 games before that. It's easy to understand why they're losing, though, with Rudy Gobert missing all four of those games. The big man is quite simply the most impactful defensive player in the NBA, and it completely dismantled this defense to have him sitting in COVID protocols. The good news is that he's expected to return here, and it couldn't come at a better time since Utah has a date with the 2020-21 MVP in Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets (22-19) have blown numerous 20-point leads over the last three weeks, but they come into this matchup winning four of their last five games. The two most recent victories have been dominant, beating the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers by over 30 points apiece. Performances like that make it hard to understand why they've blown so many big leads because this is one of the most talented teams in the NBA. That's a scary thought for the rest of the NBA, too, with Jamal Murray (ACL) expected back sometime in the next month. Getting an All-Star caliber points guard back will only help the winning ways continue, and it makes Denver one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA for the final few months.
These teams have played twice this season, with Utah winning both matchups. That gives them four wins in their last five meeting with the Nuggets, dating back to last season.
The Jazz (28-14) find themselves in their worst stretch of the season, entering this matchup amid a four-game losing streak. What makes that even more shocking is the fact that they won 16 of their previous 19 games before that. It's easy to understand why they're losing, though, with Rudy Gobert missing all four of those games. The big man is quite simply the most impactful defensive player in the NBA, and it completely dismantled this defense to have him sitting in COVID protocols. The good news is that he's expected to return here, and it couldn't come at a better time since Utah has a date with the 2020-21 MVP in Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets (22-19) have blown numerous 20-point leads over the last three weeks, but they come into this matchup winning four of their last five games. The two most recent victories have been dominant, beating the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers by over 30 points apiece. Performances like that make it hard to understand why they've blown so many big leads because this is one of the most talented teams in the NBA. That's a scary thought for the rest of the NBA, too, with Jamal Murray (ACL) expected back sometime in the next month. Getting an All-Star caliber points guard back will only help the winning ways continue, and it makes Denver one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA for the final few months.
These teams have played twice this season, with Utah winning both matchups. That gives them four wins in their last five meeting with the Nuggets, dating back to last season.
T'Wolves Host Warriors on Sunday
The Minnesota Timberwolves play host to the Golden State Warriors at Target Center on Sunday.
The Warriors (31-11) find themselves in the worst stretch of their season, entering this matchup with a 4-5 record across their last nine games. The two most recent outings tell the story, with Golden State getting blown out on Friday night and following it up with a blowout victory on Saturday. They were both against tough Eastern Conference teams in the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, but such differing performances show how inconsistent they've been for the last three weeks. In any case, this 31-11 record is still the second-best mark in the NBA, and they look like genuine title contenders with an MVP candidate like Stephen Curry and a Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner in Draymond Green.
The Timberwolves (20-22) finally got back to .500 after a four-game winning streak last week, but two straight defeats coming into this matchup has undone that excellent work before. Mixing winning streaks with losing streaks is why this team has been so bad over recent years because the losing streaks tend to be longer. This looks like a different team this year, though, with Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell looking like a formidable threesome. Those three guys are all young, too, and it has many people believing this T'Wolves team is one move away from being a true playoff contender. That makes them a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches because fans desperately want to see their team be competitive for the first time in a long time.
These teams played back on November 10, with Golden State prevailing, 123-110. That gives the Warriors 32 wins in their last 42 meetings with the T'Wolves dating back to 2009.
The Warriors (31-11) find themselves in the worst stretch of their season, entering this matchup with a 4-5 record across their last nine games. The two most recent outings tell the story, with Golden State getting blown out on Friday night and following it up with a blowout victory on Saturday. They were both against tough Eastern Conference teams in the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, but such differing performances show how inconsistent they've been for the last three weeks. In any case, this 31-11 record is still the second-best mark in the NBA, and they look like genuine title contenders with an MVP candidate like Stephen Curry and a Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner in Draymond Green.
The Timberwolves (20-22) finally got back to .500 after a four-game winning streak last week, but two straight defeats coming into this matchup has undone that excellent work before. Mixing winning streaks with losing streaks is why this team has been so bad over recent years because the losing streaks tend to be longer. This looks like a different team this year, though, with Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell looking like a formidable threesome. Those three guys are all young, too, and it has many people believing this T'Wolves team is one move away from being a true playoff contender. That makes them a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches because fans desperately want to see their team be competitive for the first time in a long time.
These teams played back on November 10, with Golden State prevailing, 123-110. That gives the Warriors 32 wins in their last 42 meetings with the T'Wolves dating back to 2009.