Two weeks of preseason ended on Saturday night. Julius Randle presented himself in the best regular season form and shot the Knicks to victory with a game winner. Stephen Curry shoots out all the lights against the Blazers and the Mavs secure a perfect preseason record.
Miami Heat (5-1) – Boston Celtics (2-2) 121:100 (BOXSCORE)
- A strong end to a strong preseason for Tyler Herro. The heat youngster led Miami to victory with 29 points in 23 minutes (10/15 FG and 5/6 threesome) and increased his average of points in five preparation games to 22.4 points – the fifth best value in the preseason 2021. Herro convinced against Boston not only with scoring, but also collected 4 assists and 6 rebounds.
- The starters around Jimmy Butler (25, 7/14 FG and 10/11 FT) and Bam Adebayo (17, but 6 turnovers) also showed good performances. Markieff Morris (11 and 6 rebounds) and Max Strus (10) contributed double-digit points from the bench. The latter marked 7 points in the fourth quarter alone, in which Miami took a decisive lead.
- The Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schröder had almost finished work by then. Without Jaylen Brown and Al Horford (Corona protocol) and Marcus Smart (suspended due to a missed plane), Tatum took on the burden of the top scorer (23, 8/19 FG). Dennis Schröder showed a solid performance with 13 points (6/11 FG) and 6 assists in his second appearance in the Celtics dress, Romeo Langford contributed 18 points at 4/6 from downtown.
Detroit Pistons (2-2) – Philadelphia 76ers (2-2) 112:108 (BOXSCORE)
- Despite his return to Philadelphia a few days ago, Ben Simmons sat out in the last preseason game for the Sixers. The same was true for Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Danny Green, instead the second guard was allowed to present itself. Tyrese Maxey (16 and 5 rebounds), Andre Drummond (17 and 7), Paul Reed (15) and Isaiah Joe (14) took advantage of this opportunity.
- The Sixers fought their way back into the game despite a 22-point deficit, but the comeback was not crowned. Instead, Josh Jackson brought the Pistons back to winning ways with a threesome, one of his 4 triples for 14 points (plus 6 assists and 5 rebounds).
- Although top pick Cade Cunningham was not allowed to play again due to an ankle injury, Detroit’s starters Jerami Grant (24), Isaiah Stewart (17 and 12 rebounds), Frank Jackson (13) and Saben Lee (11 and 8 assists) were convincing. Kelly Olynyk (10) was the sixth Pistons actor in Double Figures from the bank.
Indiana Pacers (2-2) – Cleveland Cavaliers (2-3) 94:110 (BOXSCORE)
- None of the Cavs starters scraped together more than 5 points in a limited time, only rookie Evan Mobley was on the floor for more than ten minutes (3 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 14 minutes). Yet Cleveland hardly had any problems with Indiana. Top scorer Cedi Osman brought the guests onto the winning road with the support of Dean Wade (12 and 7 rebounds), Mitch Ballock (12) and Kevin Love (10).
- Cleveland hit over 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from a distance, so Indiana couldn’t keep up. Domantas Sabonis (18 minutes) and Myles Turner (16) each marked 10 points, but otherwise only Goga Bitadze (18) and Isaiah Jackson (12) cracked the double-digit points.
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