SUSPENSION OCCUR Immediately: Detroit Piston Head coach Suspended And Ruled out from NBA…
The Mavericks have won two straight games and are now back on track after losing five of their previous six games. The Mavericks traveled to Detroit to play the Pistons on Thursday night, following their thrilling victory over the Miami Heat.
The Mavericks demonstrated against the Pistons why their lack of effort and intensity was a weakness during their 1-5 run. The Mavericks had a commanding lead the whole evening, but they took matters into their own hands and destroyed the Pistons 142-124 when a brawl broke out between Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Mavericks big P.J. Washington.
The Mavericks needed Luka Doncic’s skill to defeat the Pistons in addition to their team camaraderie to secure their second consecutive victory. Doncic created history against Detroit by recording his sixth consecutive 30-point triple-double. Doncic surpassed players like Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson to become the first player in NBA history to record six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles.
Daniel Gafford, the center for the Mavericks, demonstrated why he should be the starting center moving forward in addition to Doncic’s incredible performance. In addition to scoring 17 points and recording four blocks, Gafford was extremely dangerous when he and Doncic pick and roll.
Even though Gafford had a strong performance, rookie center Dereck Lively II has had trouble lately. Lively II has only managed to score eight points in his previous three games; it’s unclear why.
Livingly II played just 16 minutes and had poor numbers against the Indiana Pacers, maybe his lowest game of the season. What effect will Lively II’s current setbacks have on his rookie standings? Let’s examine this.
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Amen Thompson has been playing some of his finest hoops of late. Thompson was benched during his first few months in the NBA, but he has now established himself in Houston and is a valuable asset going forward.