#Rockets guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green combined for 65 points on strong efficiency as Houston held off Jaden Ivey and Detroit to end its seven-game losing streak.
Kevin Porter Jr. continued his strong run of form as the Houston Rockets (19-59) ended a seven-game losing streak with Friday’s 121-115 victory (box score) over Detroit (16-61). The game kicked off this season’s final homestand of three games at Toyota Center.
Porter scored a game-high 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting (60.0%), including a blistering 7-of-13 mark from 3-point range (53.8%). Meanwhile, backcourt mate Jalen Green added 32 points and 5 assists on 10-of-18 shooting (55.6%) and 2-of-5 from 3-point range (40.0%).
Frontcourt starters Alperen Sengun (15 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists) and Jabari Smith Jr. (13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks) each had simultaneous double-doubles for a second straight game.
In Friday’s narrow defeat, the Pistons were led by rookie guard Jaden Ivey, who had 18 points and a game-high 9 assists. However, he was less efficient than Houston’s young backcourt, shooting just 8-of-20 overall (40.0%) and 2-of-9 from 3-point range (22.2%).
Scroll on for highlights, postgame interviews with players and head coach Stephen Silas, and reaction from Houston fans and media members. The Rockets will continue their homestand Sunday versus the Los Angeles Lakers, with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m. Central.
Ivey crossed a major career milestone and joined some exclusive company in franchise history following his latest effort.
Detroit Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey crossed a major career milestone on Friday and joined some exclusive company in franchise history following his latest effort.
Ivey produced 20 points, eight assists, three rebounds and one steal in a 118-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on the road. He went 7-of-13 from the field, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range, in 41 minutes of work in his 66th game of the season.
The fifth pick crossed 1,000 career points with the performance. He is the fourth player in team history to reach 1,000 points, 300 assists and 250 rebounds as a rookie, joining Cade Cunningham, Grant Hill and Dave Bing.
Ivey is averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 41.2% shooting from the field. He leads the rookie class in assists and is third in scoring, and is one of nine first-year players to score at least 30 points in a game this season.
He has emerged as a productive player this season with the Pistons and seems to be a lock to make one of the two All-Rookie teams. Certainly, joining Bing, Hill and Cunningham in some team history is a good start in the NBA.
Ivey was added to the team’s injury report and will not play on Saturday as the Pistons host the Pacers.
Jaden Ivey will not play on Saturday when the Detroit Pistons host the Indiana Pacers after the rookie was placed into the NBA’s health and safety protocol, the team announced.
Ivey last played with the Pistons on Thursday in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. He recorded 16 points, six assists, three rebounds and two blocked shots. It was his 27th straight game scoring in double figures, the longest streak by a rookie this season.
The fifth pick will miss at least one game in the health and safety protocol. He will need to return two consecutive negative coronavirus tests at least 24 hours apart before gaining clearance to play again.
Ivey is averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 41.5% shooting from the field in 62 games this season. He ranks third in scoring and first in assists among all rookies and is one of nine first-year players with at least one 30-point game.
Ivey continues to perform at a high level of late with the Pistons, and recently joined some incredible company.
Jaden Ivey continues to perform at a high level with the Detroit Pistons, and he recently joined some incredible company following a string of strong performances.
Ivey is averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 41.8% shooting from the field this season. He ranks third in scoring and first in assists among all rookies and is one of eight first-year players with at least one 30-point game.
The fifth pick completed his 60th game on Monday and joined Cade Cunningham, Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic as the only players in the last 15 years to record 900 points, 225 rebounds, 250 assists and 75 3-pointers over that span.
Last night, Pistons guard Jaden Ivey completed his 60th game in the NBA. Ivey joins Cade Cunningham, Luka Dončić and Steph Curry as the only players in the last 15 years to account for 900 points, 225 rebounds, 250 assists and 75 3-pointers in the first 60 games of their careers. pic.twitter.com/fEoRV9wAbQ
Ivey is in the midst of a recent upswing in production, too.
He registered his second straight double-double on Tuesday in a loss to Washington with 26 points and 12 assists. He is the first Pistons rookie to record consecutive point-assist double-doubles since Lindsey Hunter in April 1994.
Ivey has scored in double figures in 26 straight games, the longest streak by a rookie this season. It is tied with Grant Hill for the fourth-longest streak by a rookie in team history and is only seven off of the most games set by Dave Bing.
Ivey has emerged as the primary ballhandler with Cunningham out for the season. The results have been up and down like any typical rookie, but Ivey continues to show growth on the court and is establishing himself as a cornerstone for the franchise.
He has impressed throughout the year and is likely heading toward an All-Rookie placement. Certainly, being in the same company as Bing, Curry, Doncic and Hill is no small feat.
Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams had the best game any rookie has had so far this season.
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He just had the best game of his professional career during a win over the Jazz on Sunday, finishing with 32 points (12-15 FG, 4-5 3P), five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks.
This was arguably the best game any rookie has had so far this season. In fact, only three rookies have ever recorded a 30-5-5 performance with a more efficient true shooting percentage: Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
But this wasn’t just one good game for Williams, who has contributed well throughout the season for Oklahoma City. This is just yet another wonderful game from the former Santa Clara standout.
Williams is averaging more than 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Among the last ten rookies to accomplish as much, all but one (Cade Cunningham) either won Rookie of the Year or finished as the runner-up.
These are arbitrary thresholds, of course, but they speak to the versatility he provides for the Thunder. The catch-all metrics value Williams, too. Compare his career progression to other perimeter candidates in the Rookie of the Year race using DARKO’s DPM, which is the most trusted impact metric:
Banchero (-2500) is the heavy favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. Mathurin (+1800) is still viewed as the runner-up, though he currently has a considerable distance behind Banchero.
Williams (+4000) is a massive longshot, but he could be a sleeper hiding in plain sight. It doesn’t seem likely that he passes Banchero, but if he keeps up his hot stretch for the remainder of the season, he could steal some votes.
Even if he doesn’t win the award, however, it is still worth celebrating the fact that the No. 12 overall pick is having a Rookie of the Year-caliber season in Oklahoma City.
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The Tip-Off
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“The Grizzlies’ point guard hasn’t been charged on any of this alleged behavior, but none of it is a good look. And he’s also compounded all this drama with some absolutely confounding decisions in recent days. All of that has led to a brief suspension by the Grizzlies for their All-Star point guard.”
Let’s hope that Morant gets the help he needs while he is away from the team.
Heat (-2.5, -150) vs. Hawks (+130), O/U 229.5, 7:30 PM ET
The Heat are a game-and-a-half ahead of the Hawks in the standings, but both these teams are underperforming so far this season. They desperately need wins to try and catch the Nets and become the No. 6 seed so they can avoid the play-in tournament.
Gotta know the timeout situation if you’re inbounding in the final seconds of a close game.
We’re sure that Detroit Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey, the son of Notre Dame coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag], will have a fine NBA career. Like with any rookie, he’s bound to make mistakes as he gets a feel for the professional game. However, it’s unlikely anyone had him celebrating Chris Webber’s 50th birthday in fitting fashion on their bingo card.
In the closing seconds of a game against the Chicago Bulls, the Pistons had a chance to tie or maybe win after mounting a furious fourth-quarter rally. Ivey was charged with inbounding the ball out of the Pistons’ final timeout. He couldn’t find any open teammates, and in an effort to avoid a five-second violation, he did something that undoubtedly triggered PTSD for the many Michigan fans that had to have been present at Little Caesars Arena:
It’s unfortunate that Webber had a Hall of Fame career and calling a timeout with none left in the national championship game remains his legacy. However, sports fans don’t forget mistakes in high-stakes situations, so here we are.
The good news for Ivey is this gaffe, which played a key role in the Pistons’ 117-115 loss, won’t be nearly as remembered. Plus, he has a brilliant basketball mind in his mother who should help them through this. He’ll be OK.
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In basketball, there’s never really one play that absolutely makes or breaks a game — that includes the plays in the waning moments of the game.
Yes, obviously, some plays feel bigger than others. But each moment and action builds and builds until we get to the final result. So it’s hard to say that one play impacts the game more than another.
With that being said, Jaden Ivey’s Chris Webber moment for the Pistons on Wednesday night certainly didn’t help the Pistons against the Bulls.
Detroit had the ball with a chance to pull ahead or tie the Bulls with just under 10 seconds left in the game. Ivey is inbounding the ball for Detroit and the team has no timeouts left. The Pistons have to inbound the ball.
But Ivey doesn’t like what he sees, so he calls a timeout. Normally, that’s the right thing to do. But in this case? It cost his team dearly.
The Pistons didn’t have any timeouts.
The Pistons had a chance to win the game or send it to overtime until Jaden Ivey called a timeout that the team did not have…
An excess timeout results in a technical foul and the Bulls went on to win the game 😬pic.twitter.com/7zIgFIsluT
Poor Jaden Ivey. You could tell immediately that he’d recognized his mistake after he made it.
The Bulls shot the technical free throw and got the ball back after this. The Pistons had to foul again. The Bulls made all 3 free throws to push the lead to 117-112.
That’s rough, man. It had to be a tough pill for Ivey to swallow knowing that this play put the game out of reach.
But, again, no one play makes or breaks a game. Dwane Casey said as much after the loss, writes ESPN.
“He panicked, but the game wasn’t won or lost on that one play…It was lost in the first quarter. With the laissez-faire approach we had defensively, they got whatever they wanted. It’s such a mountain to climb when you get behind in this league.”
And he’s right. Detroit gave up 38 points in the first quarter and then got outscored 32-18 in the second quarter. The Pistons played catch-up through the entire game and ti’s hard to come back from that.
Ivey shouldn’t hang his head on this. Though we rarely see this, it’s an honest mistake. And one that I’m almost certain won’t happen to him again.
The play unfolded with 9.7 seconds left to play and the Pistons down by two points. Ivey was in charge of inbounding the ball, and with seemingly nowhere to throw the ball, the rookie turned to the official to call a timeout to avoid a five-second violation.
However, the Pistons did not have any timeouts left.
The Pistons were whistled for a technical excess timeout foul, which gave the Bulls a free throw. Zach LaVine sank the shot to seal the win. Ivey immediately looked on in disappointment as did Pistons coach Dwane Casey.
He believes Ivey will learn from that moment.
Everybody told him: ‘It wasn’t that play and learn from it.’ He is going to be in a lot of those situations throughout his career. Understand that five seconds is a long time to throw it in. I don’t want to make a lot out of that play; it was (over) way before that.
Jaden Ivey tried to call a timeout before Pistons final possession… but they didn't have any 😅 pic.twitter.com/yH7CEQoEnd
Ivey scored 18 points in the 117-115 loss. The Pistons came back from a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter to make things interesting. They managed to tie the game three times in the final 3:04 of regulation but were unable to take the lead.
“The game wasn’t won or lost on that one play,” Casey said. “It was lost in the first quarter. The laissez-faire approach that we had defensively, they got whatever they wanted. … It didn’t come down to that one play. I know it is going to seem like it and everybody is going to say it, (but) it started way before that.”
The error by Ivey was reminiscent of Chris Webber’s infamous play in the 1993 NCAA national championship game with Michigan. Down two in the closing seconds, Webber tried to call a timeout but the Wolverines were out. He was whistled for it, and North Carolina iced the game at the line.
The Pistons have allowed their young guys the opportunity to play through mistakes and, unfortunately, that will be one moment that Ivey will remember for a long time.
Kessler and Team Jazz walked away as the champions of the Skills Challenge after defeating the Antetokounmpos and Rooks.
Walker Kessler and Team Jazz on Saturday walked away as the champions of the Skills Challenge after defeating the Antetokounmpos and Rooks in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Team Jazz, which also featured Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, came out of the gate a bit flat after losing in the first round and relay portion of the competition. They regrouped and took the passing and shooting portions of the event to collect the 300 points needed to win.
The trio of players had the benefit of having their home crowd cheer them on throughout the competition. They easily received the loudest ovation of all of the players introduced and were ecstatic to give their fans the victory.
The rookie team, which consisted of Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey and Jabari Smith Jr., took the lead early after posting a one-minute, 14-second time in the relay round. The speed of Ivey paid off on the final relay, which was a full-court sprint and layup.
The Antetokounmpos were without Giannis in the event after the two-time MVP suffered a wrist injury on Thursday with Milwaukee. He was replaced by Bucks teammate Jrue Holiday, but the addition of the All-Star was not enough: The group failed to win in any of the rounds.
The Skills Challenge tipped off the festivities on Saturday night and continued a busy weekend as the league celebrated its stars with the annual showcase.
Ivey had plenty of basketball influences growing up, but it was arguably the greatest player to ever suit up that inspired him the most.
Detroit Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey had numerous basketball influences growing up, but it was arguably the greatest player to ever suit up that inspired him the most.
Ivey revealed on Friday that Hall of Famer Michael Jordan was a player he would watch often while growing up. Born in 2002, Ivey didn’t have the opportunity to watch Jordan play in person, but that didn’t stop him from studying His Airness.
He explained prior to the NBA Rising Stars game, which, coincidentally, is sponsored by Jordan Brand this year, why Jordan was the player he watched the most growing up.
I would probably say M.J. Obviously, I wasn’t able to watch him live but I always watched his highlights growing up before every game. He kind of inspired the fire (in me) to take basketball seriously and keep playing every single day.
Ivey chose to wear the No. 23 last year in college at Purdue and this season with the Pistons because of Jordan. He modeled some of his game after Jordan.
The 21-year-old also leaned on several others for inspiration, including his mother, Niele. She played five seasons in the WNBA after starring at Notre Dame, where she is now the head coach of the women’s team.
Ivey is averaging 15.2 points, 4.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 42% shooting from the field in 55 games. He leads the rookie class in assists and is third in scoring. He is one of seven first-year players to record at least one 30-point game this season.
