Knicks fall while Pistons lose Jennings to injury…
LaMarcus Aldridge reportedly faced an eight-week layoff with a torn thumb ligament, but he returned to action on Saturday to lift the Portland Trail Blazers to a win.
Aldridge opted against surgery to repair the damage and decided to play through the pain as he put up 26 points and nine rebounds in the win over the Washington Wizards.
“I’m not into the rah-rah story,” Aldridge said.
“I just wanted to come back and play. I wanted to test it out at home, and versus these guys because I felt they were a physical team, and if I could play against these guys then that would be good. And I was OK.”
Damian Lillard added 20 points and seven assists as the Blazers snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 32-13 with their star power forward seemingly ready to play through the rest of the season with his injury.
Elsewhere, the Charlotte Hornets defeated a Carmelo Anthony-less New York Knicks for their ninth win in 11 games as the visitors saw their three-game winning streak ended.
Tim Hardaway Jr had 25 points, six rebounds and five assists but it wasn’t enough for the visitors to avoid slipping to 8-37 for the season.
The Milwaukee Bucks were also winners on Saturday night behind 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists from Khris Middleton against the Detroit Pistons.
However, while the loss would have been disappointing in itself for coach Stan Van Gundy, the Piston coach was anxious when asked about Brandon Jennings’ leg injury.
“It doesn’t look good,” he said. “It is a major, major loss.”
Over in the West, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated that Philadelphia 76ers with Zach Randolph starring with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while the Utah Jazz defeated the Brooklyn Nets as Gordon Hayward led the way with 24 points.
NBA Results
New York Knicks 71-76 Charlotte Hornets
Detroit Pistons 86-101 Milwaukee Bucks
Philadelphia 76ers 83-101 Memphis Grizzlies
Brooklyn Nets 73-108 Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards 96-103 Portland Trail Blazers
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