The Detroit Pistons were feeling a touch of holiday cheer in their road victory over the Kings on Tuesday night
Performing into the early hours of Christmas Eve, Cade Cunningham and the Pistons were feeling the giving spirit and promptly dished out a season-high 38 assists in their 136-127 road win over the Sacramento Kings on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Despite the lack of rest, Cunningham powered through to deliver for his teammates in the clutch. Cade finished the game with 23 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds and five steals in the win, though he also handed out an uncharacteristic nine turnovers.
Despite a rocky fourth quarter, the Pistons picked up their third straight victory, two of which have come on the road. Much like in last night’s game against the Blazers, the Pistons managed to carve out a 20+ point lead in the second half, but the Kings worked back into the game and made Detroit sweat it out, nearly stretching the contest into a free throw battle at the end.
But for the Pistons, the team’s 24th win of the regular season could be described as a clinic in distributing the basketball. Detroit’s 38 assists on the night are a season-high for the squad, and it shows the team-friendly basketball that helps highlight the depth on this Pistons team.
Over the past several games, Pistons forward Ausar Thompson has taken a step forward in his aggression, and the dynamic playmaker was assertive once again versus the Kings tonight. Thompson finished the game with 19 points, six rebounds and two assists, and after the game Thompson spoke about how he’s been able to turn a corner of late.
“Just being aggressive, you know, make them guard me,” Thompson said. “I feel like Cade, JD, Tobias [Harris], they take a lot of the load on offense, so I’ve got to help them out.”
As Thompson said, that trio carry a lot of responsibility in the scoring department for Detroit, and they all showed up prepared to make an impact against the Kings. Along with Cunningham’s 23 points, Duren logged 23 points of his own, many of which came in the third quarter, and Harris added a team-high 24 points on 10/16 FGs.
With Thompson surrounded by players who can score at that level on a nightly basis, the two-way Swiss Army knife has no shortage of options when it comes to getting buckets.
“Oh, I’ve got so much trust in every single person on the team,” Thompson said. “If they’re open, I’m giving them the ball. I feel like we’re all the same way, you know?”
That type of mentality allows the Pistons to ride the hot hand, and Isaiah Stewart showed up as another player who was determined to help influence the outcome in favor of Detroit with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, one thunderous block and a bit of time running the offense as a ball handler at the top of the key. Stewart’s do-it-all performance as a reserve was key for Detroit in their single-digit victory.
The Pistons have a couple days off before playing the Utah Jazz on Friday, Dec. 26 at 9:30 pm.
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