Although the dynamic duo of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren stole the show in the Pistons’ 124-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, it was Detroit forward Ausar Thompson who quietly posted another crucial, dynamic two-way performance. 

Logging 28 minutes after receiving the early hook one game prior against the Spurs, Thompson bounced right back into playmaking form, disrupting Thunder possessions on one end before setting up his teammates on the other. Thompson finished with 11 points, seven assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks on the night in an effort where Ausar was all over the place. 

If 70% of the Earth is covered by water, the other 30% was patrolled by Thompson against the Western Conference’s top-ranked squad. 

After the game, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke about Thompson’s impactful response against such a quality opponent. 

“Tonight is who he’s always been,” Bickerstaff said. “We don’t pick one game that determines how important each individual guy is to us. We aren’t in this position where we are now if Ausar doesn’t play the way Ausar has played all season long. Ausar is a huge part of what we do, and night in, night out he does the job for us. It’s him, it’s who he is and we aren’t surprised by it.”

Functioning as a secondary playmaker for much of the night, Thompson showcased his high-level court vision, which was only amplified by his speed and feel for transition basketball. Thompson has only exceeded seven assists twice this season while touching that number in one other game, so the third-year forward’s playmaking was a key complement to Cunningham’s 13 assists. 

Another area of Thompson’s game that stood out against the Thunder was his shot selection– in a positive way. Thanks to timely backdoor cuts, Thompson found himself with the ball in the dunker’s position on multiple occasions, which led to either easy finishes or quick dump-offs. To round out his scoring performance, Thompson sprinkled in a pair of mid-range jumpers against the Thunder for good measure. 

When Thompson has been more assertive for the Pistons, like he was on Wednesday night, Detroit has benefited from the added flexibility of another smooth ball handler with adept vision in transition and a penchant for setting his teammates up with quality looks. In the playoffs, the Pistons will need Thompson to step up as that consistent secondary playmaker if Daniss Jenkins runs into any postseason adversity, so AT’s performance against OKC served additional value in that sense as well. 

Moving forward, the Pistons have a day off before they host the Cleveland Cavaliers in a Central Division showdown on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 pm.

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