James Harden Named Western Conference Player Of The Week

The Golden State Warriors remained flawless on the season despite the Detroit Pistons causing a few nervous moments at Oracle Arena. They’ve gotten everyone to buy in to having a selfless team that does the job they need to do to win. Kari Lehtonen stopped 10 of 11 shots in the first two periods and finished with 21 saves for Dallas. The Blazers scored their first points off a jump shot from Damian Lillard, as he and Meyers Leonard did most of the damage early in the quarter for the Blazers. The starters, while they may be overburdened, have performed admirably with a positive net rating (+0.2 points per 100 possessions) blazing the trail to a solid 4-4 record, including blowout victories over the Pelicans, Jazz (in Utah), and Grizzlies.

His Pistons coach, Stan Van Gundy, once coached a player who scored and rebounded at will when he was at the helm of the Orlando Magic.

The Pistons represent a young up-and-coming team rounding out and starting to control their place in the East. They have gotten off to a solid start, and will look to prove to people that they belong by throwing their best challenge at the defending champs.

“I was frustrated”, said Jackson, who also had five rebounds and five assists with only two turnovers in his 34 minutes.

Another familiar name in the league’s rebounding leaders is former Bucks center Zaza Pachulia, ranking seventh and averaging 10.2 through his first six games with the Dallas Mavericks. Reggie Jackson scored 26 of his career-high 40 points in the fourth quarter as Detroit overcame an 18-point deficit to win for the fifth time in six games. At one point in the quarter, the Pistons blitzed Portland to the tune of a 24-0 run. Harrison Barnes and Iguodala hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Warriors a 27-15 lead.

But Johnson carried a 5.5 points per game average into Monday night. So did Iguodala, who was 4 for 7 from the field.

Thunder 124, Suns 103: Kevin Durant had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Phoenix to snap a three-game losing streak. McCollum went on a 7-0 run on his own to regain the lead for the Blazers, 87-86.

– Festus Ezeli will start while Bogut improves his conditioning after completing the NBA’s return-to-participation protocol, according to Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton.

We’re getting a pointspread break on this game due to the expected absence of Clippers point guard Chris Paul.

“The amusing thing is, when I was scoring I felt like we were scoring”.

Warriors: C Andrew Bogut (concussion) is listed as questionable. He also missed three preseason games because of a broken nose. F Kevon Looney (hip surgery) is out indefinitely.

“His sense of humor seems like it’s coming back”, Walton said. They got plenty of help from a bench that they consider to be the best in the league. Harris made it tough for him to get into a rhythm, which was desperately needed since Lillard was dominating the first 48 minutes.