Every morning, we will give you five things from the night before in the NBA to start your day.
1: It keeps going… and going…
It was an unlikely hero in regulation that sent the game to overtime. And into the rabbit hole we went. Al Jefferson hit a 3-pointer that hit just about every part of the rim before falling in that sparked a triple overtime battle between the Raptors and Jazz at Air Canada Centre on Monday.
It would be Paul Millsap and Mo Williams helping pace the Jazz through the 15 extra minutes. And DeMar DeRozan just could not get the help he needed in the end.
Jefferson scored 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Millsap had 34 points and nine rebounds. Marvin Williams and Mo Williams each chipped in 17. Utah's balance proved to be too much in the end as Utah won the third overtime 15-8. Toronto had finally run out of gas after losing control of the game late.
Of course, the Raptors needed a big 3-pointer from John Lucas III just to force the third overtime. Both teams had their chances to end it. This was a game you kind of hoped did not end as both teams played extremely scrappy and were fighting on each possession — random long-range hoists from Mo Williams aside.
DeRozan would have been the star if he could have gotten the support he needed to get the win. DeRozan scored 33 points in 60 minutes, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out six assists. Jose Calderon had 20 points and 17 assists and Linas Kleiza burned the Jazz again with 20 points on his own.
But Kleiza fouled out in the first overtime and Toronto was hoping to get more from Andrea Bargnani. Bargnani managed only 19 poitns, but shot 5 for 17 from the floor. That is simply not good enough.
And so the Jazz got an emotional and probably momentum-building win. One that Tyron Corbin hopes brought the team together.
2: Pistons still winless
The Detroit Pistons remain the only winless team remaining in the NBA as they dropped their eighth straight game to open the season. What is worse is that Detroit had this game.
The Pistons led the Western Conference champion Thunder by 11 points entering the fourth quarter, but could not maintain that lead. The Thunder outscored the Pistons 30-17 to send the Pistons to their worst start to a season in franchise history.
Russell Westbrook turned in another fantastic performance with 33 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Durant had his solid 26 points and nine rebounds.
What kills though for Detroit was how this one seemed there for the taking and would have been a major confidence boost to a young team struggling to do anything right at the moment.
Brandon Knight's 2-for-13 evening probably says as much as anything about Detroit's evening. The Pisotns were able to take a lead, but could not consistently put the ball int he basket. Eventually Durant and Westbrook will be able to do so. They did Monday night.
3: HIGHLIGHTS!!!
Al Jefferson ties the game
It was not Brandon's Night
Derrick Williams smash
4: Line of the Night: Brandon Jennings — 33 points, 12/21 FGs, 8 assists, +25
A surprisingly efficient night from Brandon Jennings in Milwaukee's 105-96 win over Philadelphia. Jennings is not always known for his ability to score points in few shots, but shooting better than 50 percent while dishing out a solid number of assists is a good sign from the young player. A better sign is that Milwaukee sits at 4-2 and is one of the big surprises of the East.
5: You can quote me on that
Jeff’s a really, really nice guy and some nights you just have to be a [jerk]. I felt like after the dunk he was aggressive. He was greedy Jeff, and when he’s like that he’s hard to stop.
–Kevin Garnett on trying to get Jeff Green to be more aggressive
I was so upset with my game against Boston the other night. I wanted to come back out here and prove that was just a fluke and have a short memory. That's something I've been working on this summer.
–Brandon Jennings on responding to his 1-for-11 shooting performance last time out against Boston
