Combine the biggest winners in the NBA Draft
The biggest winners of the NBA Draft come together.
He was having his best game in the conference semifinals when Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren injured his lower leg. Thankfully for Detroit, he didn’t last long.
Duren, Detroit’s first All-Star, sprained his left ankle on Friday, May 15, in Game 6 of the team’s second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The play came with just over six minutes left in the third quarter when Duren collided with Cavaliers guard James Harden, who was on an offensive foul. As Harden fell to the court, Duren took a step forward, but his left foot landed awkwardly, leading to a tweak. Duren immediately fell down and grabbed his leg.
He left the floor and immediately went to the bench, where trainers took care of him. After a few minutes on the bench, Duren headed through the tunnel to the locker room. A few minutes later, Duren returned to the bench but did not immediately return to the game.
After spending the remainder of the third quarter on the bench, occasionally standing and cheering, Duren returned to the floor to start the fourth quarter and appeared unaffected by the injury. Duren appeared to be wearing additional braces to support the area.
On Friday night, the Pistons defeated Cleveland, winning 115-94 and advancing to Game 7.
Until Friday night, Duren had struggled to assert himself in this series, taking a passive approach on offense. Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff opted to bench Duren for the entire fourth quarter and overtime of Game 5 due to his struggles.
Duren played the rest of the game, recording 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 11 rebounds, three blocks and one steal.
“Just will and determination,” Bickerstaff said after the game. “I thought it was big that J.D. started getting a little bit better. It started with the rebounding part, what he did for us defensively, the communication, but the four offensive rebounds were huge. That means he’s imposing his will on the game. Everything else comes from there.”
This story has been updated with new information.
