In a back-and-forth affair where each team held a double-digit lead at one point, Cade Cunningham’s 29-point, 17-assist effort somehow was not enough to lead the Pistons over the Jazz, with Detroit suffering a 131-129 loss in Utah on Friday night.

In the early stages of the road game, Cunningham was dissecting the Jazz, to be kind. Cunningham set his teammates up at the rim and for spot-up jumpers all throughout the first half, and the Pistons’ All-Star finished the first two quarters with 13 assists. To put that early performance in perspective, the single-game high for assists in the NBA this season is 18, and that honor is held by Cunningham himself and Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

So, Cade was wheeling and dealing in the early juncture of the contest, and the Pistons held a one-point lead at halftime. But from there, the Jazz made some key adjustments at halftime and came out firing in the third quarter, putting up 44 points and taking charge of the game.

For Utah, the inside-outside combination of Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen combined for 61 points on the night. Markkanen, who has been tied to the Pistons through trade rumors for the better part of the last year, put together a dialed-in shooting performance with 30 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range and a peerless 10-for-10 night from the charity strip. George, on the other hand, contributed 31 points with five triples to his credit in the 11th win of the season for the Jazz.

Early on, Pistons center Jalen Duren fell into foul trouble when the refs booked the Detroit big man for two personal fouls in the first three minutes of the matchup. At that point, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff promptly subbed Duren out of the game, and he was not a factor for the remainder of the first quarter.

Duren reentered the matchup midway through the second quarter, but he was only able to manage 11 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes as he battled foul trouble on the night. At one point late in the fourth quarter, Duren picked up his fifth foul of the game, but he began to walk immediately down the tunnel, all but signalling his swan song for the night. Duren eventually returned to sit on the bench, but he did not check back into the game.

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Outside of Cunningham’s stellar individual effort and Duren’s foul-hampered showing, the Pistons received a big boost from their bench with 11 points from Ron Holland II, Caris LeVert and Jaden Ivey. 

The Pistons still hold a 7.5 game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central Division. With the tough road loss now on Detroit’s record, the Pistons will regroup before traveling to Los Angeles for a game against the Clippers on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 9 pm. 

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