On November 23, A.J Detroit Pistons He defeated the Utah Jazz on the road in convincing fashion.
Lauri Markkanen did his part to make sure that Tuesday night’s rematch in Detroit would not be repeated. The Jazz forward tied a career high with 38 points and hit 9 of 13 3-point attempts to help Utah defeat the Pistons, 126-111, at Little Caesars Arena.
It was overshadowed by a career night from Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey, who scored 30 points on 10-for-14 and 8-for-11 shooting from the free throw line. Detroit struggled through another weak second half and was outscored, 65-51, after halftime.
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The Pistons’ other lottery pick last summer, Jalen Dorin, also had a solid night with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Bojan Bogdanović also scored 15 goals.
Ivy shakes slack
From November 14 through December 11, Ivey shot 36.1% overall and 25.4% on-3 although his averages over that stretch—14.8 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds—were close to his norms. But his efficiency made it clear he was in an early rookie slump.
But the fifth general selection seems to be coming out of it. After scoring 19 points on a 7-for-11 shooting against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, he broke the 20-point threshold for the first time since November 20 on Tuesday. Ivey got off to a great start, hitting six of his first seven shots for 18 points in the first half. His first bucket of the night was a three-pointer to put the Pistons on the board, but otherwise he made the bulk of his scoring by utilizing his power and attacking the basket.
Ivey scored 13 points in the final six minutes of the first half to help Detroit stay competitive as Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson got off to a hot start for Utah. Ivy’s second three-pointer of the night at 2:39 of the second quarter tied the game at 52, added a midrange jumper, a floater and a pair of free throws to give Detroit a one-point halftime deficit.
In his previous three games prior to Tuesday, Ivey had shot 48.3% overall. On Tuesday he provided more evidence that his slump is behind him.
Duren continues to shine as a starter
Tuesday was Doreen’s seventh consecutive game with double-digit rebounding, and his fourth straight game. Along with Ivy, Doreen gave the Pistons weary from losing more reason to be excited about the future.
Doreen quickly made a case for himself as not only the best player on the list, but also the best heading threat. He got off to a strong start, shutting out Utah defensively at one end in the opening period before finishing off a layup four minutes into the game. At the 7:19 mark, he finished off a dunking sticker on fellow rookie center Walker Kessler after Isaiah Stewart blocked Kessler on the other end of the floor.
The Stewart-Dorrien tandem played good synergy in the first half. Midway through the second quarter, Stewart was isolated under the rim and found Doreen cutting another dunk.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @employee
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