The Detroit Pistons had multiple causes for celebration on Sunday night
With the NBA Trade Deadline just days away, the Detroit Pistons missed out on an opportunity to evaluate Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. in-person as the veteran sharp-shooter missed the game due to personal reasons. So without the potential trade target in the lineup, the Pistons proceeded to take the court for a matchup filled with cause for celebration.
In the first quarter, Detroit center Jalen Duren was officially named to his first All-Star team as a reserve member of Team USA. Now, it is unclear if JD will team up with Cade Cunningham at the All-Star Game since the US will have two squads in action, but the dynamic duo could team up for a couple emphatic alley-oops at the mid-year exhibition– possibly with J.B. Bickerstaff as their coach to boot.
With Duren’s All-Star selection laying the pretext, the Pistons wasted little time in thoroughly dispatching the Nets by a 130-77 margin on Sunday night. During the second and third quarters, the Pistons held Brooklyn to just 38 combined points in another defensive clinic for the squad wearing their black and teal City Edition threads for the joyous occasion. And to further set the stage, the Pistons' 53-point victory on Sunday night marked the team's largest win in franchise history.
For the Pistons’ leader, Cunningham logged 13 points and 10 assists in the first half alone before eventually finishing with 18 points and 12 dimes in the blowout win. As for his All-Star counterpart, Duren was no slouch either with 21 points and 10 rebounds in his own right.
Given Detroit’s dominant performance, the Pistons were afforded the opportunity to cycle through their rotation and give quality minutes to players further down on the bench with all 12 players scoring at least four points on the night. In particular, Daniss Jenkins shined in the second half with 18 points on an efficient 6-for-9 display from the field. Jenkins also snagged four rebounds to go along with an assist in another showing of how valuable the two-way player is in the Motor City.
From a team perspective, the Pistons had one of their better shooting nights with a 38% mark from three-point range, while the Nets only managed a 23% clip from beyond the arc. The Pistons’ defense is known for their suffocating, never-back-down nature, and the Nets were simply overwhelmed and overmatched on that end of the court.
Ringing true to the Pistons’ success all season, Detroit dominated the paint on defense, allowing just 30 points to be scored in that zone by Brooklyn. On the flip side, the Pistons scored a whopping 70 points in the paint on their own, a stat that truly illustrates the lopsided nature of the Eastern Conference battle.
Now at 36-12 on the season, the Detroit Pistons have a day off before hosting the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 7 pm.
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