Playing in Detroit for the first time this season, the Pistons’ dynamic trio of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson put on a show for a 119-113 win over the Celtics in the home opener. Duren posted a monster double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds, and a resilient Detroit defense was able to weather a 41-point outburst from Jaylen Brown in the victory.

“We want to do it for the city,” Duren said after the win. “They deserve it. They’ve been here through the ups and the downs, and opening night is a huge night. We knew the crowd was going to be into it. We wanted to get it for them.”

Early in the first quarter, Brown wasted little time and connected on a flurry of jumpers to give the Celtics a quick lead. From there, Detroit held tight and rotated its lineup until finding a combination that worked, and both Isaiah Stewart and Javonte Green were productive contributors to start. The Celtics did carve out a 17-point lead at one stage, but the Pistons cut that advantage down to single digits by the end of the first quarter.

From a scoring perspective, Pistons veteran forward Tobias Harris showed up with a few timely jump shots and free throws in the second quarter to narrow Boston’s lead to five points. After that, Harris knocked down a triple from deep to put the Pistons just three behind, and it marked a 14-point first half for the 15th-year forward. Then finally just before the end of the half, Duncan Robinson hit a crucial three-pointer to give Detroit its first lead of the game.

Holding a 60-58 advantage over Boston in the home opener, the Pistons were propelled into that spot in no small part by Thompson and Duren. The former logged 10 points and five rebounds in the first half, and the latter offered nine points and nine rebounds against Boston at home even though the Pistons only shot 39.6% in the first half.

Cunningham turns it on after halftime 

Once the Pistons could gather themselves at the break, Thompson picked up right where he left off from a playmaking sense with an acrobatic lay-up, a deft steal and another bucket all in quick succession in the third quarter. 

Shortly thereafter, Thompson began bringing the ball up the floor more often because the Celtics began tightly pressing Cunningham full-court with bigger players, and it took the Pistons a bit longer to get into offensive sets. With that added responsibility, Thompson got Duren involved more often, and Duren really began to hurt the Celtics from the free throw line, ultimately ending the game 12-for-13 from the charity stripe.

Duncan Robinson Helped ‘Control That Chaos’ In Detroit’s 115-111 Win Over The Rockets The veteran forward played a key role in the Detroit’s first regular season win

As for Detroit’s All-Star point guard, Cunningham started the game slowly with only three points in the first quarter, but he eased into the contest and started playmaking at a higher rate in the fourth quarter of today’s win. And although Brown helped the Celtics keep it close, the Pistons leaned on a foundation of Cunningham, Harris, Thompson and Duren as the four players were responsible for every Detroit point for the final five minutes of the game down the stretch. 

Ultimately, Cunningham helped guide the Pistons to a six-point win over a tough Celtics squad, moving Detroit above .500 in the process. Cunningham finished with 25 points and 8 assists on the night, while one of his key swingmen, Thompson, logged 21 points and 12 rebounds of his own. 

The Pistons have a quick turnaround and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 pm. 

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