Game ID: 22300129
Detroit Pistons @ New Orleans Pelicans
Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 35 37 22 31 125DET 29 20 34 33 116
DET @ NOP ScoutingDET @ NOP Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NOP availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/28 · 2 days' rest
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's rest
full strength
NOP availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restNEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 3
NOP availability going into 11/02 · back-to-backOUT Ingram missed 2 since 10/30, out tonight
NEW Hawkins 17 to 25 min over the last 4
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 4
NOP availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 3 since 10/30, returns tonight: 32 min (95% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 24 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restBACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 32 min since (95% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 25 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restBACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 34 min since (102% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 25 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 33 min since (100% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 25 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
DET availability going into 10/28 · back-to-backOUT Wiseman missed 2 since 10/25, out tonight
OUT Rhoden missed 2 since 10/25, out tonight
OUT Umude missed 2 since 10/25, returns tonight: 1 min (5% of 13)
DET availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's restOUT Wiseman missed 3 since 10/25, out tonight
OUT Rhoden missed 3 since 10/25, returns tonight: 2 min (12% of 14)
BACK Umude back 10/28 after 2, 1 min since (5% of 13)
NEW Burks 21 to 27 min over the last 3
DET availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restOUT Wiseman missed 4 since 10/25, returns tonight: 6 min (36% of 17)
BACK Rhoden back 10/30 after 3, 2 min since (12% of 14)
BACK Umude back 10/28 after 2, 1 min since (10% of 13)
DET availability going into 11/02 · back-to-backBACK Wiseman back 11/01 after 4, 6 min since (36% of 17)
BACK Rhoden back 10/30 after 3, 2 min since (12% of 14)
BACK Umude back 10/28 after 2, 5 min since (38% of 13)
DET availability going into 11/05 · 2 days' restOUT Burks missed 2 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Rhoden missed 2 since 11/01, returns tonight: 3 min (18% of 14)
BACK Wiseman back 11/01 after 4, 6 min since (36% of 17)
BACK Umude back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (30% of 13)
DET availability going into 11/06 · back-to-backOUT Burks missed 3 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Wiseman missed 2 since 11/02, returns tonight: 11 min (62% of 17)
BACK Rhoden back 10/30 after 3, 2 min since (15% of 14)
BACK Umude back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (31% of 13)
NEW Thompson 25 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Hayes 24 to 30 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT Ivey missed 2 since 11/05, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 4 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Wiseman back 11/01 after 4, 8 min since (49% of 17)
BACK Rhoden back 10/30 after 3, 3 min since (23% of 14)
NEW Thompson 25 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Hayes 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Sasser 19 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 11 to 16 min over the last 4
DET availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT Ivey missed 3 since 11/05, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 5 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Harris missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Wiseman back 11/01 after 4, 8 min since (49% of 17)
BACK Rhoden back 11/05 after 2, 7 min since (48% of 14)
NEW Thompson 25 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Hayes 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Sasser 19 to 28 min over the last 5
10/25 @ MEM 111-104 — NOP notes
NOP won 111-104. NOP shot 47% (40 of 85) to MEM's 42%, 14 of 32 from three. NOP turned it over 21 times to MEM's 13, and MEM turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 52-37 for them. McCollum led with 24 (8 of 16, 6 of 11 from three); Williamson added 23, Ingram 19. The hinge was Q2, 32-19: NOP came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 17. Ryan was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
10/28 vs NYK 96-87 — NOP notes
NOP won 96-87. NOP shot 46% (40 of 87) to NYK's 37%, 9 of 33 from three. NOP turned it over 13 times to NYK's 18. The glass went 43-59 against them. Ingram led with 26 (11 of 17, 1 of 3 from three); Williamson added 24, McCollum 12. The hinge was Q1, 26-12: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 19. McCollum was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
10/30 vs GSW 102-130 — NOP notes
NOP lost 102-130. NOP shot 41% (38 of 93) to GSW's 52%, 10 of 39 from three, and went to the line 26 times to GSW's 20 — 16 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 39-64 against them. McCollum led with 19 (7 of 21, 2 of 8 from three); Williamson added 19, Hawkins 14. Q2 was theirs, 30-30, but the other 3 periods went 100-72 against them. Jones's -22 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/01 @ OKC 110-106 — NOP notes
NOP won 110-106. NOP shot 39% (40 of 102) to OKC's 43%, 13 of 42 from three. McCollum led with 29 (10 of 17, 5 of 8 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Williamson added 20, Valančiūnas 19. The hinge was Q2, 29-18: the deficit went from 19 to 8. NOP trailed 43-51 at the half and won the second half 67-55. Hawkins was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
11/02 vs DET 125-116 — NOP notes
NOP won 125-116. NOP shot 49% (39 of 80) to DET's 44%, 14 of 32 from three, and went to the line 35 times to DET's 26 — 33 points from the stripe to their 21. The glass went 36-48 against them. McCollum led with 33 (10 of 23, 3 of 10 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Valančiūnas added 23, Jones 21. The hinge was Q2, 37-20: a lead of 6 became 23. Valančiūnas was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
11/04 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; McCollum at 23 and Williamson at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Ingram (3 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Murray at 22 and Young at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Mathews (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Atlanta has been plus-3 a night and New Orleans minus-6 and the defense, New Orleans allowing 109 a night to Atlanta's 117. Call it Atlanta 115, New Orleans 114, New Orleans keeping it close.
11/06 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 104, shooting 52 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Porter Jr. at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 25 free throws a game; Williamson at 22 and McCollum at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and New Orleans minus-12 and the line, where New Orleans takes 25 free throws a game to Denver's 18. Call it Denver 114, New Orleans 105.
11/08 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 102, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Reid at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; McCollum at 24 and Williamson at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and New Orleans minus-10 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 102 a night to New Orleans's 122. Call it Minnesota 116, New Orleans 105, Minnesota by 11.
11/10 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 101, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Ja. Green at 21 and Sengun at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Thompson (3 straight). One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; McCollum at 25 and Williamson at 22 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without McCollum (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 101 a night to New Orleans's 120 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-5 a night and New Orleans minus-7. Call it Houston 117, New Orleans 106, Houston by 11.
10/27 @ CHA 111-99 — DET notes
DET won 111-99. DET shot 45% (40 of 88) to CHA's 38%, 10 of 30 from three, and got to the line 25 times to CHA's 34. DET turned it over 23 times to CHA's 18, and CHA turned those into 13 steals. The glass went 53-41 for them. Burks led with 24 (5 of 10, 3 of 7 from three, 11 of 12 at the line); Ivey added 18, Stewart 15. The hinge was Q1, 32-21: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Burks was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
10/28 vs CHI 118-102 — DET notes
DET won 118-102. DET shot 52% (45 of 86) to CHI's 42%, 12 of 28 from three. DET turned it over 15 times to CHI's 8, and CHI turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 53-33 for them. Cunningham led with 25 (9 of 19, 1 of 4 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Duren added 23, Burks 18. The hinge was Q2, 28-18: a lead of 3 became 13, and the lead reached 19. Burks was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
10/30 @ OKC 112-124 — DET notes
DET lost 112-124. DET took 8 more shots (91 to 83), fed by 13 offensive rebounds, but shot 43% to OKC's 53%, 15 of 28 from three. Ivey led with 20 (7 of 13, 4 of 6 from three); Cunningham added 17, Thompson 15. Q2 was theirs, 26-26, but the other 3 periods went 98-86 against them. Hayes's -15 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/01 vs POR 101-110 — DET notes
DET lost 101-110. DET took 9 more shots (90 to 81), but shot 44% to POR's 47%, 11 of 29 from three, and got to the line just 11 times against 31 fouls committed. Cunningham led with 30 (11 of 27, 5 of 9 from three); Thompson added 16, Stewart 12. Q1 was theirs, 32-26, but the other 3 periods went 84-69 against them. They led by as many as 18. Ivey's -14 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/02 @ NOP 116-125 — DET notes
DET lost 116-125. DET took 14 more shots (94 to 80), fed by 19 offensive rebounds, but shot 44% to NOP's 49%, 13 of 38 from three, and got to the line 26 times to NOP's 35. The glass went 48-36 for them. Cunningham led with 22 (8 of 22, 2 of 7 from three); Sasser added 19, Thompson 16. Q3 was theirs, 34-22, the deficit cut from 23 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 103-82 against them. Stewart's -18 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/05 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; Cunningham at 21 and Burks at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Burks (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Durant at 30 and Gordon at 15 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-7 a night and Phoenix minus-2 and the arc, Detroit at 40 percent from three to Phoenix's 36. Call it Detroit 113, Phoenix 109, Phoenix keeping it close.
11/06 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 116, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Cunningham at 24 and Thompson at 14 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Burks (3 straight), Wiseman (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 110, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Curry at 29 and Thompson at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Golden State wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Golden State 113, Detroit 112, Detroit keeping it close.
11/08 @ MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 28 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 27 and Lillard at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Cunningham at 23 and Thompson at 15 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Ivey (2 straight), Burks (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 28 free throws a game to Detroit's 19 and the glass, where Detroit has been minus-2 a night and Milwaukee minus-8. Call it Milwaukee 118, Detroit 113.
11/10 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Cunningham at 26 and Sasser at 16 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Ivey (3 straight), Burks (5 straight). One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 106, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Embiid at 33 and Maxey at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Philadelphia allowing 106 a night to Detroit's 119 and the line, where Philadelphia takes 27 free throws a game to Detroit's 18. Call it Philadelphia 117, Detroit 110.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NOPCM C. McCollum
DD D. Daniels
DS D. Seabron
HJ H. Jones
JH J. Hawkins
JV J. Valančiūnas
KL K. Lewis Jr.
LN L. Nance Jr.
MR M. Ryan
VA Valanciunas
DETAT A. Thompson
CC C. Cunningham
IS I. Stewart
JD J. Duren
JH J. Harris
JI J. Ivey
KH K. Hayes
MB M. Bagley III
MS M. Sasser
SU S. Umude
NOP/DET the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
CJ McCollum scores 33 points to lead short-handed Pelicans past Pistons, 125-116
NEW ORLEANS -- — CJ McCollum says he enjoys basketball too much to allow fatigue or a thrown-off routine to stop him from doing what he can to carry the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans through back-to-back games.
He even found a moment during a second-quarter stoppage against Detroit on Thursday night to play rock-paper-scissors with a young fan.
“I actually owe that kid some shoes,” an exhausted but grinning McCollum said. “We got to find the kid. I lost.”
The Pelicans, however, beat the Pistons, 125-116, thanks in large part to McCollum with his 33-point night.
“He did everything we asked him to do and more,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said of McCollum, who scored 29 points Wednesday night in a victory at Oklahoma City. “It’s a credit to his mindset, to his character and to the work that he puts in.”
New Orleans was facing Detroit without starting power forward Zion Williamson and starting wing Brandon Ingram , who are also two of their top scorers.
Williamson, who has been injury prone during his first four NBA seasons, was given the night off with the Pelicans playing the second of three games in four nights.
Ingram missed his third straight game with right knee tendinitis.
The Pelicans also had to take an unusual game-day flight home because of their plane's mechanical problems Wednesday night, after New Orleans had pulled off the largest road comeback in franchise history by erasing a 22-point deficit.
“The biggest thing is the mental toughness it took to overcome all of the sort of obstacles that we dealt with in the last 24 hours,” Green said. “It’s a credit to the character in that locker room. This is a total preparation-meets-opportunity moment and guys stepped up.”
Matt Ryan , a third-year pro out of Chattanooga, got his first-career start and scored a career-high 20 points, hitting 6 of 8 3-pointers.
“I feel like I’m just getting started, still making a name for myself,” Ryan said. “I’m not used to playing so many minutes in the NBA. … I love it.”
Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Herb Jones added 21 points and had a career-high four blocked shots.
Cade Cunningham had 22 points and 11 assists for Detroit, which dropped its third straight. Marcus Sasser hit five 3s and finished with 19 points, while Ausar Thompson scored 16 points.
Trailing by as much as 25 points in the second quarter, Detroit got back within single digits when Sasser’s 3 made it 111-103 with 4:03 left, but Jones hit a driving layup while being fouled on New Orleans’ next trip down the court.
“We have a number of guys out there that just said, ‘Enough, we got to guard the ball, we got to push hard,’" said Pistons coach Monty Williams, whose team also was playing a second game in two nights.
McCollum scored 25 points in the first half on shots ranging from scoop set up by a euro step in the lane to, driving floaters off the glass or 3-pointers. His early production helped New Orleans build its largest lead at 70-45.
It was about that time that McCollum engaged with a young fan holding a sign challenging players to a game of rock-paper-scissors for their shoes.
“I was a kid. I got kids. So, you see the joy, the excitement in the kid, being at a game,” McCollum said. “Just a moment where it made sense. He had a nice sign. It was very clever and I think he had a jersey on. So, why not?”