It’s been a strange season for Wayne Ellington in his return to the Detroit Pistons.
After he played in only one of Detroit’s first six games, and only for four minutes in that game, Ellington has started three consecutive games and five of the last seven.
In his latest start, Ellington scored 24 points on seven 3-pointers to produce a 16.8 game score, all season-highs, in the Pistons’ 113–107 loss at Miami to split two games with the Heat. It was his best game score since putting up an 18.2 on April 3, 2019, in a 24-point game for the Pistons against Indiana.
Perhaps playing former teams elevates his play a bit? His best game last season was 17 points for the New York Knicks against Detroit.
Reggie Bullock and the New York Knicks are finally building some momentum.
The Knicks swept games on consecutive days for the first time in 40 chances with a 91–84 home win Monday afternoon over the Orlando Magic. The back-to-back wins came after five consecutive defeats.
Pretty give-and-go between Reggie Bullock and Julius Randle 💯
Bullock made two free throws with 27.6 seconds left to push the Knicks’ lead to six and scored 13 points to net double-figure points in consecutive games for the first time this season.
It wasn’t such a good day for rookie Orlando point guard Cole Anthony, who was held under double-digit points for the first time in four games with six points, five rebounds and a season-low-tying one assist against one turnover on 2 of 12 shooting. His 0.1 game score was his second-lowest of the season.
The Magic’s losing streak since Markelle Fultz’s season-ending injury made Anthony the starter is now at six games for a team that was 6–2 beforehand.
Cameron Johnson got his first start of the season after he started all eight of the Phoenix Suns’ games in the Lake Buena Vista, Fla., bubble last summer. He took the place of veteran forward Jae Crowder in the lineup for the Suns’ 108–104 loss at Memphis and scored nine of his 10 points in the first half.
In 23 minutes, Johnson tallied four rebounds, two assists, one steal and two turnovers. Crowder played 56 seconds more than Johnson and finished with seven points, two rebounds and four assists.
Coby White rebounded from a scoreless game with 10 points and four assists in the Bulls’ 125–120 home win against Houston.
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