With the Pistons playing their second game in two days, Detroit fought off fatigue to take down the Miami Heat on the road in a high-scoring thriller, 138-135. In the narrow win, Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham led the way with 29 points, eight assists and four rebounds, but the Detroit floor general battled turnover trouble for much of the night with Miami forcing eight changes of possession. 

For much of the contest, the Pistons were in the driver’s seat with a lead as large as 20 points, but a 31-point effort from Andrew Wiggins helped the Heat claw back into the game late. However, Detroit was connecting  on its shots all night long with a 59% mark from the field, so the Pistons were able to outpace Miami’s late surge for a three-point win. With the victory, the Pistons moved to 16-4 on the season as Detroit put the brakes on a brief two-game losing streak. 

Tobias Harris Filling In For Jalen Duren

Heading into the Eastern Conference matchup, the Pistons were without the services of center Jalen Duren as the big man is recovering from a lower body contusion. As a result of his absence, Detroit opted to start Isaiah Stewart at the five, and Beef Stew was predictably influential on defense as a rim protector and in the rebounding game. Despite that, Duren is a much more high profile scorer, so the Pistons were missing JD’s influence in the scoring department, particularly in the two-man pick and roll game working with Cunningham.

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So, the Pistons shuffled the lineup around a little bit, and two players benefited the most– Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson. Starting at the four, Harris finished the night with 26 points, four rebounds and two assists for a productive showing. Harris was prolific from three-point range, connecting on four shots from behind the arc out of six attempts in an all-around impressive shooting display. 

For most of the season, Duren has averaged between 10 and 15 shots per game, so there was a considerable amount of volume to redistribute in his absence. As a result, Robinson found himself in a position to put up shots more often than normal, and the eight-year NBA vet totalled 18 points, five rebounds and five assists in his return to his former home in Miami. Robinson went 3-for-9 from distance, and the experienced sharp-shooter helped space the floor to keep Miami’s defense honest on the night. 

Detroit Continues To Pepper The Paint

Throughout the 2025-26 regular season, the Pistons have found success through a steady diet of offense flowing through the paint. Detroit operates under a philosophy that values high-percentage shots, so the Pistons have a steady diet of mid-range shots or attempts around the bucket. 

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Following that script, the Pistons worked the lane early and often against Miami. Cunningham, as he’s known to do, was finishing dribble-drives near the hoop at an efficient pace, and the Pistons held a 76-54 edge in points in the paint when the game wrapped up. 

Now, both the Pistons and the Heat rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the NBA in terms of points in the paint respectively, so this battle was a matchup of two teams that both consider down low scoring as a focal point of its offensive impetus. The Pistons were able to outdo Miami in this facet even without Duren in the lineup.

Also of note, Paul Reed saw a significant increase in minutes with Duren out of the lineup, and he made the most of his opportunity. B-Ball Paul finished the game with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the Pistons’ three-point win, and he played a crucial role down the stretch in the second half.

Now with a bit of positive momentum again, the Pistons will have a day off before hosting the Atlanta Hawks at home on Monday, Dec. 1 at 7 pm. 

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