On January 21st, Beijing time, the NBA regular season welcomed several key battles. Among them, the momentum of Jalen Green's Rockets faced off against the Pistons led by the same-year number one pick Cade Cunningham, the Suns with their impressive debut of new recruits took on the Eastern Conference leaders, the Cavaliers, and the grudge match between the Warriors and the Celtics. The specific highlights of the games are as follows:
The Rockets lost at home to the Pistons 96:107.
So far this season, the Rockets have achieved a record of 28 wins and 13 losses, ranking second in the West, while the Pistons have 21 wins and 21 losses, ranking ninth in the East.
Playing at home, the Rockets were completely out of form, with both inside and outside defenses collapsing. Jalen Duren dominated the paint, and the momentum of Jalen Green was disrupted by consecutive turnovers, allowing the Pistons to go on a 14:0 run, trailing 29:40 by 11 points at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, taking advantage of the Pistons' poor form, Aminu Thompson and Whitmore continuously attacked, leveling the score before halftime. After the break, Cade Cunningham suddenly exploded, scoring 19 points in a single quarter with unstoppable drives and outside shots, once again widening the gap. In the final quarter, both teams had extremely low offensive efficiency, with Jalen Green scoring 9 points alone, which was not enough to save the game. Ultimately, the Rockets lost at home to the Pistons 96:107.
The absence of Adams led to the Rockets losing 13 rebounds. Jalen Green shot 8 for 21, scoring 19 points with 5 turnovers, while Sengun shot 5 for 14, grabbing 11 points and 8 rebounds.
The Suns lost away to the Cavaliers 92:118.
So far this season, the Cavaliers have a record of 35 wins and 6 losses, while the Suns have 21 wins and 20 losses, ranking tenth in the West. This game saw the absence of the Cavaliers' interior beast, Jarrett Allen.
At the start of the game, both sides were in a tight state, with many scoring points from both sides' players. The role players performed well during the lineup changes, tying the first quarter at 27. In the second quarter, except for Durant, the rest of the Suns' players went cold, being chased by the Cavaliers, trailing by double digits at halftime. In the second half, Mitchell started to exert himself, with Strus hitting consecutive threes to lead the team on a 13:2 run, widening the gap to over 20 points. In the final quarter, the Suns were unable to catch up, ultimately suffering a 26-point defeat to the Cavaliers.
Durant shot 9 for 16, scoring 23 points with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
The Warriors lost at home to the Celtics 85:125.
So far this season, the Warriors have a record of 21 wins and 20 losses, while the Celtics have 29 wins and 13 losses. This is the first matchup between the two teams this season.
At the beginning of the game, the scores were close, with players like Porzingis and Tatum continuously scoring by attacking the basket, and Curry and Schroder frequently scoring. However, in the last five minutes of the first quarter, the Warriors were hit by a 14:1 run by the Celtics. In the second quarter, the Warriors' offense had no strategy, with various misses, and the Celtics were also struggling. In the third quarter, when the Celtics were hot, the Warriors continued to struggle, trailing by 34 points at the end of the third quarter, at which point the game lost its suspense.
Results of today's completed games:
The current standings are as follows: