Ben Simmons has been put in a new role in his return from injury.
Plus Josh Giddey was again benched late as the Thunder suffered another loss.
Catch up on all of the day’s action in our NBA Wrap!
Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Tue, 08 Nov
Tuesday November 8th
SIMMONS BROUGHT OFF BENCH IN RETURN
Ben Simmons has come off the bench in his return from a knee issue in the Brooklyn Nets’ clash with the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday (all times AEDT) in a new role for the Aussie.
Simmons has missed the Nets’ last four games and is only expected to play around 20 minutes in his return.
Irving dropped by Nike, teammates react 03:18
It comes as the former Pick 1 has been linked to trade talks, with the Dallas Mavericks reportedly monitoring his situation amid uncertainty in Brooklyn and drama surrounding Kyrie Irving.
Simmons played eight minutes in the first half and had limited impact, with the Nets trailing the Mavericks 50-53.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic leads all scorers with 23 and Royce O’Neale has a team-high 12 for the Nets, who are looking for a third-straight win.
THUNDER DROP THIRD STRAIGHT AS GIDDEY BENCHED LATE
The Oklahoma City Thunder have fallen to the Detroit Pistons on the road 112-103 after collapsing in the second half.
The Thunder led 63-48 at the main break, but when the Pistons started surging in the third, OKC had no answers.
Detroit would win the third quarter 36-22 to take a one-point lead into the last change. The hosts then kept pushing further ahead in the fourth and down the stretch of the game despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s best efforts (33 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four blocks).
Fox sinks DEEP 3 for the win! | 00:37
Josh Giddey, who had nine points and five rebounds at half-time, did not play the final nine minutes of the game, just like when the Aussie was benched late in his return game from an ankle injury against Orlando.
Saddiq Bey led the way for the Pistons with 24 points, while Cade Cunningham (21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) was also busy.
It marked Detroit’s third win of the season and the Thunder’s third-straight loss to fall to 4-6.
ALL RESULTS
WIZARDS 108 HORNETS 100
ROCKETS 132 MAGIC 127
THUNDER 103 PISTONS 112
PELICANS 122 PACERS 129
SUNS 88 76ERS 100
BUCKS 98 HAWKS 117
TRAIL BLAZERS 110 HEAT 107
RAPTORS – BULLS
CELTICS – GRIZZLIES
KNICKS – TIMBERWOLVES
NUGGETS – SPURS
NETS – MAVERICKS
KINGS – WARRIORS
LAKERS – JAZZ
CAVALIERS – CLIPPERS
.