Paul George and Tatum rout the 1-9 Bucks 117-97
Paul George scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 21 as the Celtics beat the Bucks 117-97 on Sunday at Fiserv Forum, leaving Milwaukee 1-9
A one-legged three with the clock dying seals Detroit
内容摘要：Playing without Luka Doncic, who averaged 45 points in the previous four wins, Austin Reaves answered with 43 and a one-legged three to close the game
The picture is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph from the match
Detroit trailed by 26 in the second quarter, closed to 109-104 in the final minute and was answered by the least defensible shot of the night, a one-legged, off-balance Reaves three that sealed a 121-116 Lakers win.
45, nine and eight going into the night
The absence was the story going in: Doncic came into Sunday averaging 45 points over a four-game winning run that had left the Lakers at 8-2.
Reaves completed the assignment in full: 43 points, 11 of 11 free throws, one turnover and 36:41 on the floor.
A 23.0-point average over the previous four games said Reaves was already carrying more; against Detroit he simply took the shots as well.
The night carried a Detroit subplot: the Pistons held the 42nd pick with a plan for Reaves in 2021, he turned it down to join Los Angeles as a free agent, and Detroit drafted Isaiah Livers instead.
Walker Kessler, who finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds, said Reaves sometimes accepts a secondary role when Doncic plays and that this performance showed how capable he is.
A lead the Pistons never held
The Lakers led by as many as 26 points in the second quarter, held the advantage for 97 percent of the game and never trailed, with no lead changes recorded.
The Pistons drew within five at 109-104 in the last minute, forcing the ball to Reaves with the shot clock running out.
The dagger was not designed: a flipped-up, one-legged three from Reaves that he described afterward as a lucky attempt that simply fell.
Notably, Daniss Jenkins scored 31 points off the bench on 8-of-15 three-point shooting with five rebounds and four assists, and Kevin Huerter added 24 points and five blocks.
The Pistons outshot Los Angeles from the arc, 19 makes to 11, and still spent the entire evening behind.
Cunningham's night and the fixtures ahead
Kessler collected seven offensive rebounds among his 16 boards and blocked three shots, while Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed 10 rebounds in 14 minutes.
Two 17-point nights from Williams and Sexton, both arriving off the bench, were the next scoring lines after Reaves' 43.
Cade Cunningham finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, eight assists and four turnovers for a minus-15 rating.
Detroit owned eight offensive rebounds from Reed and 11 from Thompson and still lost the glass by a single board.
In the wider picture, both teams were back on the floor on Monday night: the Lakers in Atlanta at 9-2, the Pistons at home against Washington at 6-3.
Editor's take: Detroit's 48 three-point attempts are the more interesting number than its 19 makes; the shots exist, the lead does not.
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