Keyonte George vs. Pistons: Game Recap & Highlights

Keyonte George continues his strong season with the Utah Jazz, who tripped up their next strong opponent in the Detroit Pistons. The Washington Wizards dominated the Toronto Raptors.

Game of the Night: George sinks Pistons

After four defeats in a row for Utah, it looked like another defeat for large parts of the first half, although Detroit was never able to pull away by more than 11 points. The Jazz took advantage of this to take control after the break. With 2.1 seconds remaining on the clock, George completed the upset with a difficult floater in the zone to make the final score 131-129.

“This summer I worked so hard on things like this,” the 22-year-old revealed afterwards.

Utah led by +15 in the third quarter before the Pistons fought back. Kevin Love contributed 11 of his 14 points in the period, which Utah won 44-35.

George was the game’s top scorer with 31 points (5/10 3P), 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He scored the only four points for his team in the last 3:59 minutes, and Detroit didn’t do much more offensively in the final phase.

Lauri Markkanen followed suit with 30 points (10/10 FT), Brice Sensabaugh celebrated a personal best with 20 points, but committed a foolish turnover with the lead with 20 seconds left. Ace Bailey was limited by a hip injury and went pointless in 11 minutes, missing the second half.

MVP of the night: Cade Cunningham

Cunningham did everything in his power to extend the Pistons’ winning streak to four games. The Pistons’ leader put up a personal best of 13 assists in the second half (17 total), added 29 points and stole the ball from Sensabaugh shortly before the end before leveling the score at the free throw line.

However, Cunningham was unable to capitalize on his strong evening when he missed a closely defended throw from downtown at the buzzer. He then had a long discussion with the officials about the lack of a whistle.

Despite 38 assists, 52 percent from the field and 18/37 triples, it wasn’t enough for Detroit to win their eighth win in the ninth game. Detroit boasts the second-best defensive rating in the league, but has struggled to track George and Markkanen across a variety of screens.

The question remains to what extent Ausar Thompson was limited by injury and is for the next few games. The Pistons’ best on-ball defender only played for 16 minutes total and 2 after halftime. Perhaps head coach JB Bickerstaff complained about his protégé’s three turnovers.

Disappointment of the night: Who stole the Raptors defense?

First, the Washington Wizards deserve praise for their 138-117 win over the Toronto Raptors. Led by Kyshawn George (23, 9/13 FG), the hosts in the capital converted 59 percent of their field throws in addition to 15/33 triples.

The gaze then quickly moves to the opponent and fills with concern if you keep up with the Raptors. For Toronto it was the seventh defeat in the last ten games, and the manner in which it happened is hardly reminiscent of the team’s recent highs under head coach Darko Rajakovic.

Toronto was missing important defenders in Jakob Pöltl, RJ Barrett and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, but that shouldn’t lead to a total loss. The Raptors came into the game with the fourth-best defensive rating in the league.

The Raptors held on until the final quarter, which Washington won 36:17. The top scorers for Toronto were Brandon Ingram (29, 10/20 FG) and Immanuel Quickley (25, 4/4 3P, 5 assists).

Rise of the night: return of the pensioners!

The LA Clippers won a third game in a row for the first time this season. In the 119:103 win against the Portland Trail Blazers, James Harden (34, 6 assists), Brook Lopez (31) and Kawhi Leonard (28, 6 assists) scored at least 28 points. In the history of the Clippers, a trio has only achieved this twice before in the same game. Only one other trio in the entire league has achieved this so far this season.

Lopez put himself in an exclusive club as he ran hot from downtown with 9/14 triples. He became the third player age 37 or older to sink 9 or more three-pointers in a game. Previously, only superstars Stephen Curry and LeBron James were able to do this.

The Leonard/Harden axis once again worked very well with a net rating of +13 in 32 minutes together. The most recent 225 of those minutes resulted in a +88 overall after the two aging stars didn’t mesh well early in the season.

Rookie and problem child of the night: Kon Knueppel

It wasn’t a good night for rookies in the NBA. Some had poor performances, others struggled with injuries. Kon Knueppel only went against the trend half the time. After 15 minutes on the floor, he already had 16 points and was red-hot with 4/4 triples before an ankle injury slowed him down.

The Hornets sharpshooter limped off the field late in the second quarter of their 120-105 loss to the Orlando Magic after landing on Desmond Bane’s foot and twisting his right ankle. Head coach Charles Lee revealed after the game that x-rays showed no injuries and that Knueppel will undergo further evaluation upon his return to Charlotte.

Nosedive of the night: Hawks lose crisis summit

Voices of the night:

Will Hardy (Head Coach, Utah Jazz): “This is a very special building. It’s loud in here. The volume recently is particularly noticeable.”