This summary would start with a big high-five for Wayne Ellington. We’ll get to that.
Let’s rather talk about Delon Wright.
Dwane Casey’s favorite rugby blanket has taken over the starting position since Killian Hayes’ hip injury earlier this month. It was an indescribable ride in ten games, with Wright giving up 8 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
The numbers rose recently: 17 points and 6 rebounds against the Houston Rockets, then 10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Wright faced the 76ers at home again on Monday, and Wright had his best game of the year, throwing in 28 points, handing out 9 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds to get the last Pistons past the Joel Embiid-less Sixers, 119 -104 .
The Pistons, now 4-13, won, but the backhand of Wright and Ellington won the game – bet you did not think you would hear it tonight.
Wright was the star, but Ellington’s shooting was a catalyst.
The veteran guard was drawn as something of reflection. His recent start as an appetizer felt temporary. We all know he’s a player, he’s going to get cold soon enough. That’s probably still the case … but it’s definitely not the case right now.
Ellington scored 20 points and 6-of-9 tries, setting a new Pistons record for most three-pointers made in a five-game 26-yard touchdown.
This is Wayne’s World. We only live in it:
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Chris Daniels / Detroit Bad Boys
Also: it’s crazy that we’re at this point, but Jerami Grant scores a quiet 25 points in the win. He bounced back from a rough pair of games where he made just 7 of 34 shots. The beauty of his game against Philly was the 10-out-10 performance on the free-throw line.
It is real hard to be a number 1 scorer in the NBA if you can not get to the line. It’s good to say goodbye to Grant when teams start to bite him defensively.
Josh Jackson scored 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds off the bench before being thrown out in the fourth quarter, after a definite grumpy stretch in which he faced Ben Simmons, and argued with inactive Mike Scott before received the blow after throwing an overly aggressive refusal. give to an officer after an offense.
As for the kids, they all played. Saddiq Bey had a few first half minutes but did not do much. Saben Lee played better than his numbers, and Sekou Doumbouya, who had a solid game last time, followed it up with another nice effort.
He hit a few tries, played his butt off and avoided the out-of-control incentives that hampered him this season. It turns out that Casey does not hate him after all.
Isaiah Stewart did not really do much except annoy the living hell of Dwight Howard, which was amazing.
The Sixers played without star Embiid and never looked like the East’s best team.
Detroit jumped out in the first quarter to a 16-point lead and led the rest of the way. Simmons, saddled all night with bad problems, was not a factor. The Pistons kept him up to 11 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.
Tobias Harris, everyone’s favorite former Piston, led Philly by 25 points.
Overall, it was the Pistons’ best performance of the year. They played good defense, the kids got their time and they beat the Sixers for the second time since 2017.
The tank still rolls together, but it’s nice to beat a good team for a while. Every NBA team is going to win games, you can not lose them all, so it’s at least nice to see the Pistons get their here-and-there victories against teams that actually matter.