In a season that’s been filled with memorable highs and notable achievements, the Detroit Pistons secured what will go down as one of their more impressive victories on Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Finally playing with the benefit of multiple rest days, the Pistons hosted a red-hot Lakers squad that was riding a nine-game heater at the time of their cross-conference matchup. While Detroit brought their own three-game winning streak into the contest, the Pistons were still grappling with the loss of Cade Cunningham due to his collapsed lung, so the time was ripe for second-year Daniss Jenkins to deliver the most clutch performance of his burgeoning career. 

Starting in Cunningham’s place, Jenkins set a new career-high with 30 points against the Lakers, and the former G-Leaguer was responsible for all six of the Pistons’ points within the final 40 seconds of the game to secure the win. Jenkins went toe-to-toe with a locked in Luka Doncic down the stretch, and the speedy, fearless Cinderella story won out for a 113-110 Detroit victory. 

Jalen Duren had another 20-point double-double in the narrow win, which has become the norm for JD since the All-Star Break. Over the last month, Duren seems to have turned a corner, and he’s embracing his status as the Pistons’ most reliable secondary scoring option. But with Cunningham out of the lineup recently, Duren’s been relied upon even more than normal, which is a timely test for the big man during the on-ramp to the postseason. 

Tonight, the Pistons turn their attention to an Atlanta Hawks team that are No. 6 in the East at 40-32 on the year. 

Over the last month of the regular season, no team in the league has been hotter than the Atlanta Hawks. Though the Eastern Conference squad was finally upended on March 20 against the Houston Rockets, before that point the Hawks had ripped off 11 consecutive wins on the bounce with 13 victories in their last 14 games overall. 

In their last game, the Hawks successfully blew out the Memphis Grizzlies by a 39-point margin, topping the Western Conference outfit with a final score of 146-107. The Hawks had eight players in double figures for the blowout win, four of which came off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the squad with a fairly modest 26-point offering given the lopsided result, and they did that all without the services of an injured Jalen Johnson. So, the Hawks continue to impress even when they’re operating shorthanded. 

As a team, the Hawks do their best to maximize the possession battle with the fifth-most steals (9.5) in the NBA per game while taking care of the rock on the other hand. Atlanta leads the league in assists on a nightly basis (30.4), and they’re also the No. 2 unit in terms of fast-break points, so in some senses the Hawks excel in very specific areas of the game that overlap with the Pistons’ style of play. 

Right now, Johnson's status for tonight's game is still up in the air, so it's unknown whether the Hawks will have one of the most dynamic young players in the league at their disposal. The Pistons, on the other hand, will still be without Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart, so Detroit won't be firing on all cylinders as well, but both teams still have a lot to play for and are as sure of a bet as you can find in the NBA right now to compete until the final whistle later tonight. 

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm between the two Eastern Conference squads. 

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