Shai led the Thunder to another victory and the Celtics ended the Pistons’ streak
Oklahoma City Thunder has one foot in the final phase of the NBA Cup after defeating this Wednesday by 113-105 to Minnesota Timberwolves with 40 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderwhile Boston Celtics ended the winning streak of the Detroit Pistons, whom they beat 117-113.
This Wednesday was the penultimate day of the NBA Cup before the final phase, without any team being able to join the already qualified Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers, but with the Celtics, the Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers officially eliminated.
The game in Oklahoma City was a repeat of the recent Western Conference final. The Timberwolves (10-8) put up a fight, but they lacked something to really worry the almighty Thunder, who only lost one game out of 19 played.
Gilgeous-Alexander played despite being listed as “doubtful” on the injury list for the Thunder, who went 3-0 in their NBA Cup pool.
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points for the Timberwolves, 14 of them in the fourth quarter.
No record for Detroit
Cade Cunningham scored 42 points for the Pistons (15-3), although he missed a free throw that would have tied the game at 115 with less than four seconds remaining.
The Pistons had only chained 13 victories twice before – in the 1989-90 and 2003-04 seasons -, both times when they ended up being crowned champions.
For the Celtics (10-8), officially out of the NBA Cup despite their victory, Jaylen Brown scored 33 points and Derrick White 27 after crushing the Pistons with three-pointers (6 of 8) in the second half.
Detroit, with a 2-1 in the cup, will play for a place in the finals this Friday with the Orlando Magic, who are 3-0.
Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA Cup champion, complicated
Milwaukee Bucks (8-11)reigning NBA Cup champion, complicated their pass to the final phase after losing 106-103 against the Miami Heat (13-6)which is the leader of its group after closing its four games with a record of 3-1.
It was Erik Spoelstra’s 800th victory as a coach. A victory driven by Tyler Herro’s 29 points and Bam Adebayo’s double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds).
The Bucks are in crisis, with six straight losses, the last four without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ryan Rollins and Myles Turner were their top scorers, with 26 and 24 points, respectively.
Warriors: goodbye to the cup and maybe to Curry
Stephen Curry limped off to the locker room before the end of the game after several minutes of discomfort. Houston Rockets, without Kevin Durant, beat the Golden State Warriors 104-100but both teams were eliminated from the NBA Cup.
The Rockets (11-4) scored 14 points against in the third quarter with Reed Sheppard having the game of his life with 31 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
Curry had only 14 points for the Warriors (10-9), who had Jimmy Butler as the leading scorer with 21 points.
Toronto Raptors chained their ninth consecutive victory by beating Indiana Pacers 97-95 with a Brandon Ingram conversion with less than a second left. The author of the decisive double scored 26 points, while Scottie Barnes accompanied him with 24.
In New Orleans, Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Pelicans 133-128 in overtime, with 27 points from Jaren Jackson Jr. and 25 from Jaylen Wells.
In Portland, San Antonio Spurs beat the Trail Blazers 115-102. De’Aaron Fox, for San Antonio, and Deni Avdija, for Portland, finished with 37 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists each.
New York Knicks beat Charlotte Hornets 129-101with 33 points from Jalen Brunson, 22 from Josh Hart and a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns.
AND Phoenix Suns defeated Sacramento Kings 112-100with 21 points and 16 rebounds from Mark Williams, plus another 21 points from Collin Gillespie.
