Four preseason games took place on Saturday. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 97-95, the Chicago Bulls won against the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-105, the Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks easily 117-88 and the Sacramento Kings overcame the non threat of the Portland Trail Blazers 94-90.
Philadelphia 76ers Beat Brooklyn Nets 97-95
T.J. McConnell won the game for the 76ers, who are 2-1 in the preseason so far, hit a shot with 6.5 seconds left and the shot clock expiring to win the game. Besides him, worth nothing was Robert Covington with 23 points and Hollis Thompson scoring 17 points off the bench. Jahlil Okafor didn’t look good, playing 17 minutes and scoring just 2 points. On the Nets’ side of it all, Jarrett Jack scored 20 points (11 of them from the line) while Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson each added 13.
Chicago Bulls Beat Minnesota Timberwolves 114-105
Playing in Winnipeg for the first time since 2012, the Chicago Bulls won but it was mostly about Andrew Wiggins getting a lot of attention and love from the fans. Wiggins scored 9 points in 24 minutes as the Timberwolves continue to play without Ricky Rubio, while Kevin Martin sits on the bench and Kevin Garnett for some weird reason is still in the lineup. For the Bulls, it was mostly about the guys from the bench as Jimmy Butler struggled with just 5 points. E’twaun Moore led them with 18 points while Doug McDermott, preseason king, added 16.
Detroit Pistons Beat Milwaukee Bucks 117-88
We’re not used to seeing offensive explosions from the Pistons, but they ran away with the game after building a 37-16 lead in the first quarter. Marcus Morris scored 21 points, Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond had 17 each and rookie Stanley Johnson added 15 off the bench. The game was about ex players facing their old teams. Ersan Ilyasova scored 5 points on a weak shooting night against the Bucks while Greg Monroe scored 18 for the Bucks against the Pistons, helped out by Michael Carter-Williams who had 14 points.
Sacramento Kings Beat Portland Trail Blazers 94-90
Only a preseason game and Damian Lillard wasn’t even playing, but it’s not hard to see why people think the Blazers just might be one of the worst teams in the league next season. The Kings played without Rudy Gay, giving Caron Butler some time in the lineup. DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 points and Darren Collison finished with a team-high 18. Rajon Rondo didn’t look good and even air-balled a free throw. Marco Belinelli scored 11, Omri Casspi added 10 off the bench. For the Blazers, it was C.J. McCollum leading the way with 30 points and that was about it from a sad looking team.