The Detroit Pistons picked up a pivotal victory on Tuesday night to climb out of an untimely slump
What a difference one game can make for the Detroit Pistons.
The Motown squad’s previous opponent, the Miami Heat, had Bam Adebayo go off for 83 points tonight, while the Pistons took care of their own business in a 38-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets, which snapped a four-game losing streak for Detroit.
In Tuesday night’s 138-100 win, the Pistons were able to avenge their recent loss to the Nets two games back. In that initial contest, the Pistons let a 23-point lead slip through their fingers without Cade Cunningham in the lineup, but Detroit made quick work of Brooklyn in the rematch with their All-Star point guard back in the lineup.
“We did what we were supposed to do, and it’s that simple," Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. "The guys, again, have done the same thing all year long, stuck to the script, stayed together and stayed consistent in our approach. It was going to turn for us eventually. Tonight, our guys had their mind made up that they were going to go out there and take care of business. We did it on both ends.
In only 26 minutes of action, Cunningham posted an ultra-efficient 21 points (8-for-10 FGs, 4-for-5 3FGs) and 15 assists in a game that served to redirect the Pistons back on course after a rough week of hoops. Cunningham had the basketball on a string and cleverly set up his All-Star teammate, Jalen Duren, with a bevy of clean looks in the dominant performance as JD logged 26 points in his own right.
"The pressure that they put on people, the decisions that defenses have to make," Bickerstaff began. "What are they willing to live with? What are they going to try to take away? The rolls to the rim, the vertical spacing, Deuce’s ability to playmake just puts so much pressure on teams that they gotta send extra bodies, then everybody else gets a chance to eat.”
With Ausar Thompson still out of action due to his sprained right ankle, the Pistons kept rolling with Marcus Sasser in the starting back court opposite Cunningham. Sasser had an encouraging and tidy performance with 14 points (5-for-7 FGs), one assist and one steal. Sasser was able to provide some perimeter gravity and helped improve the Pistons’ floor spacing in tonight’s small sample size compared to when Ausar is in the lineup, so that is another silver lining that Detroit can keep in their back pocket should the lineup become viable once again in the postseason.
Along those same lines, Sasser connected on four triples for the Pistons on Tuesday night, which is precisely what Detroit can benefit from if they won’t be able to take advantage of Thompson’s defensive ability for the time being. Sasser’s threat from three-point range helped unclog the paint for Cunningham and Duren to work, and the Pistons’ offense kept their lead in the double-digit range for nearly the entire matchup.
With 16 points off the bench in 30 minutes of work, Ron Holland served as the protagonist at numerous points during the Eastern Conference battle. Holland drew multiple hard fouls in the first half, and the second-year forward needed Javonte Green to pull him back from earning the Pistons another suspension if cooler heads did not prevail.
At one stage, Holland drew an offensive foul that was reviewed (and confirmed) before the Detroit wing picked up a technical for flopping during the exchange. But later on, Holland channeled his anger in a more productive direction and finished the game with 16 points in an important victory for Detroit to help break their funk.
Now at 46-18 on the season, the Pistons have a day off before a nationally televised matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers at home at 7:30 pm on Thursday, March 12.
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