Closing the door on the NBA s 10 non-playoff teams yardbarker.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yardbarker.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Detroit faces Miami, seeks to break 4-game skid
May 16, 2021 By The Associated Press
Miami Heat (39-32, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (20-51, 15th in the Eastern Conference)
Detroit; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Detroit aims to stop its four-game slide when the Pistons play Miami.
The Pistons have gone 12-29 against Eastern Conference opponents. Detroit gives up 111 points to opponents and has been outscored by 4.4 points per game.
The Heat are 23-18 against Eastern Conference opponents. Miami is 25-12 against opponents with a losing record.
The teams meet for the third time this season. The Heat won 113-107 in the last matchup on Jan. 18. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 28 points, and Jerami Grant led Detroit with 27 points.
Nikola Jokic s speedy triple-double lifts Nuggets past Pistons
Field Level Media
15 May 2021, 12:55 GMT+10
Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double in less than 27 minutes on the court, finishing with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 104-91 victory over the host Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
The Nuggets (47-24) kept alive their hopes of moving up to the third seed in the Western Conference with one regular-season game left to play. Denver won its third in a row and entered Friday one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers, but in possession of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
L.A. played at Houston later on Friday night and closes the season at Oklahoma City on Sunday. Denver finishes at Portland on Sunday.
May 14, 2021
J. Cole dropped his sixth studio album, The Off-Season, on Friday but with a special surprise for NBA fans and players. It ain t nothing I want more. Ain t nothing I want more, Lillard said after Portland s victory. I told you when I first came here, I ain t come here to waste my time. They gave us a chance to get in like we asked for and that s what we re here to do.
But J. Cole, who is standing in front of a burning basketball hoop on the album cover, didn t stop there with the NBA references.
The 36-year-old name-dropped several stars on the album, including LeBron James on track 100 Mil ( Can t leave the game yet, I feel like LeBron ), Russell Westbrook on Amari ( Kill em on a song, walk up out the booth, do the Westbrook rock-a-baby ) and Ja Morant on My Life ( Ja Morant, I m on my Grizzly ).
Detroit faces Denver, seeks to break 3-game skid
May 14, 2021 By The Associated Press
Denver Nuggets (46-24, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (20-50, 15th in the Eastern Conference)
Detroit; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Detroit comes into the matchup against Denver after losing three in a row.
The Pistons have gone 13-21 in home games. Detroit is 9-27 against opponents over .500.
The Nuggets are 21-13 in road games. Denver is 23-10 against opponents under .500.
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Nuggets won 134-119 in the last meeting on April 6. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 27 points, and Jerami Grant led Detroit with 29 points.