Zach LaVine came out this Saturday with 51 points that had no reward, since his Chicago Bulls fell in Detroit against the Pistons, while Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey put aside the controversy surrounding James Harden and sealed the first victory in this Philadelphia 76ers campaign.
Not even with 51 points from a spectacular LaVine (he alone scored half of all his team’s points) could the Chicago Bulls win in their visit to the Detroit Pistons. LaVine surpassed his NBA scoring record and finished 19 of 32 on field goals including 7 of 13 on three-pointers.
In the Pistons, Cade Cunningham (25 points and 10 assists) and Jalen Duren (23 points and 15 rebounds) stood out for a Detroit team that dominated the rebounds (61 to 41 for the Bulls).
While the soap opera of Harden continues, who asked to leave the franchise this summer and whose future is unknown, the Sixers opened their record of victories this Saturday thanks to a victory in Toronto led by Embiid (very close to the triple-double with 34 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists) and Maxey (34 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists).
Scottie Barnes (24 points and 8 rebounds) was the most outstanding of the Canadians, who paid tribute on his return to Toronto to Nick Nurse, now coach of the Sixers and who was the coach of the Raptors that won the ring in 2019.
Despite still not having Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, the Phoenix Suns overcame the Utah Jazz who were already down 33 points in the third quarter. Kevin Durant scored 26 points in 29 minutes for the Suns. The Jazz had Lauri Markkanen as their main reference with 19 points.
Naz Reid (25 points and a /- differential of 30) led the Minnesota Timberwolves in their victory against a Miami Heat weakened by the absences of Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love and who only gave up in the last quarter after a partial of 19 -1 in six minutes.
Mexican-American rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. started this Saturday for the first time in the NBA, playing 18 minutes and contributing 7 points, 3 rebounds and an assist for the Heat. Dominican-American Karl Anthony-Towns had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists and a steal in 31 minutes for those from Minnesota.
