2024-01-28

Jalen Duren, bench power Detroit Pistons to best win of season in 120-106 upset of Thunder

Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press

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The Detroit Pistons responded nicely Sunday afternoon, 24 hours after suffering one of their most disappointing losses of the season — by upsetting the team with the best record in the Western Conference.

The Pistons crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder at Little Caesars Arena, 120-106, behind a dominant performance from Jalen Duren — 22 points, 21 rebounds and six assists. OKC didn’t have an answer for the 20-year-old second-year center, who powered through rookie Chet Holmgren in the paint to finish jump hooks, along with his usual diet of dunks and put-backs.

Jaden Ivey added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Pistons (6-40), and Bojan Bogdanovic collected 17 points as they closed the homestand 2-4.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points on 13-for-20 shooting, but didn’t appear in the final period as they trailed by 14 points entering it. OKC (32-14) flies home to host Minnesota on Monday night in a matchup of the top two seeds in the West.

Cade Cunningham, a day after returning from an eight-game absence with a left knee strain, was a scratch at tipoff Sunday despite warming up pregame. Isaiah Stewart exited the game with 9:10 to play in the final period after rolling his left ankle.

Second unit steps up in dominant second quarter

The Pistons’ bench play has been a work-in-progress most of the season. Injuries have forced coach Monty Williams to repeatedly tinker with the group in search of a unit that can sustain leads. But a fully healthy bench still couldn’t save the Pistons against the Washington Wizards on Saturday. They led by 12 points with roughly four minutes remaining in the opening period, before giving up a 20-5 run as the second unit checked in and allowed the Wizards to take the lead.

“Obviously, we want to figure out a combination that allows for a bit more ball facilitation quickly,” Williams said pregame Sunday. “We got bogged down a little bit, and I may have to look at and tweak as we go along to figure out a combination, even if it doesn’t look NBA standard. We can have those moments where we can’t get into an offense because of pressure, turnovers, whatever the case may be.”

On Sunday, the opposite took place. Detroit’s starters came out flat, missing six of eight starts to start the game to fall behind 15-5 at the 8:33 mark. With Marcus Sasser replacing Hayes in the second unit, the group opened the second quarter with a 13-6 run to tie the game at 37.

A 3-point play by Ausar Thompson, the Pistons’ only defensive answer to Gilgeous-Alexander, tied the game once again at 42. The Pistons moved the ball as well as they have all season, entering halftime with 18 assists against a single turnover that was committed in the opening period.

The Pistons won the second period 46-30, and entered halftime with a 70-61 lead, their highest-scoring first half of the season. The starters had kept the momentum going, and the team entered the break with an 11-2 advantage in points off turnovers (the Thunder committed five), 13-5 advantage in second-chance points and a 9-2 advantage on the offensive glass.

The second unit had a big third quarter as well. A five-man unit consisting of Ivey and four bench players (Monte Morris, Alec Burks, Thompson and Mike Muscala) answered a 17-6 Thunder run by closing the period with a 13-2 run, extending the lead to 100-86 after the Thunder, led by a barrage of midrange jumpers by Gilgeous-Alexander, cut it to three. No OKC starter played 30 minutes.

Cade Cunningham scratched at tipoff

The 2021 first overall pick went through his pregame warmups as usual. Fifteen minutes before tipoff, the team’s official X account tweeted the Pistons had a clean bill of health for the game. But it was Killian Hayes — not Cunningham — who was on the floor to start the game. Shortly after the opening tip, the Pistons said Cunningham was scratched due to knee injury management. (Hayes played just 14 minutes, scored two points and was a minus-9.)

Cunningham was listed as “probable” before the game, marking the second time in three games he ended up sitting out after being listed as “probable.” He had the designation the morning of Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, but was later downgraded to “questionable.” His status Wednesday night at Cleveland is unclear.