NBA Trends: Reggie Jackson is Mr. November for Pistons

News and notes from around the NBA:

TRENDING

Reggie to the rescue

Last Sunday, the Detroit Pistons found themselves down 92-79 after three quarters at Portland. Then Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson exploded for 26 points, making 10 of his 11 shots in the final quarter en route to 40 points for the game. Jackson’s efforts helped the Pistons outscore the Blazers, 41-11, in the fourth quarter.

Pistons boss Stan Van Gundy signed Jackson, 25, to a long-term deal last summer and Jackson, along with center Andre Drummond, is the key behind Detroit’s strong start.

Taxing trade

On Tuesday, the Miami Heat dealt Mario Chalmers, starting point guard on its 2012 and 2013 championship teams, to the Memphis Grizzlies. Chalmers was bumped from Miami’s starting lineup last season when the Heat acquired Goran Dragic from Phoenix.

The 29-year old defense-minded Chalmers was a casualty of economics. Miami reduced its NBA luxury tax bill by roughly $6.1 million in the swap that also sent small forward James Ennis to the Grizzlies, in return for guard Beno Udrih and forward Jarnell Stokes. Look for the Heat to try to find a taker for another holdover from the championship days, center Chris Andersen; shedding the “Birdman’s” $5-million salary might help the Heat escape the tax penalty completely.

Game winners

The Lakers lost Wednesday to the Orlando Magic on a buzzer-beater from center Nikola Vucevic, who hit a high-arcing shot over 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert. Vucevic said it was his first game winner since he started playing basketball. The former Trojan came off the bench to score 18 points, after missing three games with a knee injury.

That same night Charlotte forward Cody Zeller gave the Hornets a 95-93 win over the New York Knicks with a layup with 0.6 of a second left on the clock. Unlike Vucevic, Zeller can brag of a few high school career game winners, but he never had a game winner with the Indiana Hoosiers, or since joining the NBA in 2013, until Wednesday.

Thinking longer-term

After Zeller’s basket, the Knicks had enough time to get off a play: Lance Thomas found rookie forward Kristaps Porzingis alone atop the arc and the 7-foot-3 Latvian hit what looked like a game-winning three-pointer. His teammates mobbed him, but the celebration was brief. Officials waved off the shot, which left his hand just after time ran out.

The bigger victory for New York is that Porzingis, the fourth overall pick in the June draft, has shown signs already that he might be a steal. Porzingis recently had four double-doubles in a six-game stretch.

So much for a slump

James Harden opened the season shooting only 22.2% from the field, as his Houston Rockets suffered three consecutive 20-point losses. It didn’t take long for the All-Star guard to get hot.

Against his former team, Oklahoma City, Harden scored 37 points, followed by 28 against Orlando, 43 against Sacramento and then 46 on the Clippers, all Rockets victories. In those four games Harden also took advantage of his greatest skill — getting to the free-throw line — to the tune of 14.5 times a night.

Still developing

On Thursday, the NBA Development League kicked off its 15th season, with the Westchester Knicks defeating the Maine Red Claws, 105-103.

Now with 19 D-League teams, and 22 lined up for 2016-17, the D-League is gradually becoming a true minor league for the NBA.

LOOKING AHEAD

Golden State at Clippers

When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday

TV: TNT, Prime

Let’s start with two key matchups: Blake Griffin versus Draymond Green and Stephen Curry versus Chris Paul. The athletic Green defends Griffin as well as anybody in the league. Paul takes it as a personal challenge to try and limit Curry’s output, although Paul’s groin injury is a big concern for the Clippers. Another worry for L.A. is that Golden State has won four of the last five games between the teams, including 112-108 in Oakland two weeks ago.

—Barry Stavro