Simmons in new role amid trade rumours as Giddey snubbed again: NBA Wrap

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!

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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 searching 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, didn’t 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