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Despite the Thunder missing majority of their rotation with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Willians, Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, and Ajay Mitchell all reported as out, they were able to hold with Detroit early as they held a 17-16 lead halfway through the first quarter. Their second and third-stringers showed up ready to play as seven different Thunder players would score in the first as they ended the quarter with a 15-2 run to lead 34-22.
Detroit’s defense was missing, but they found offense through Jalen Duren. Without both of the OKC big men, Jaylin Williams was the lone man left to handle JD. Duren’s size would prove to be a problem early as he led the team in field goal attempts along with eight points and three rebounds.
The Pistons needed a spark in the second and they found it from their 9-to-5 crew.
We saw the typical Ron Holland on defense, but it was his offensive rebounding with Paul Reed that provided extra possessions for Detroit to start clawing back against OKC. There was one sequence where the two of them had three straight boards over the Thunder team and RoHo was able to get the layup to go. It hasn’t looked pretty from three recently for Ron, but you can never doubt his effort.
I thought Ausar had a great second quarter – he came in for Caris LeVert after LeVert picked up his third foul and instantly made an impact on both ends of the floor. He had a sequence of a block pinned against the backboard into a transition alley-oop to Jalen Duren, and it was one of those moments where I was convinced no one else on the team could replicate that.
Most importantly, he did a great job of operating with the ball despite the Thunder not respecting his jumper from deep. They guarded him from the block or the free throw line at times, but he was able to attack and kick to find teammates for an open three. He was able to be patient and get to the right elbow for a jumper, a spot we know he’s much more comfortable shooting from.
Between these two and Jalen Duren continuing to feast inside, Detroit was able to reclaim the lead late in the second. They ended the half on a 10-2 run and took a 58-52 lead. Duren led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds as OKC didn’t have an answer for him down low.
The Pistons were able to extend that lead into the third quarter. They forced an Oklahoma City timeout after Cade did his best Tayshaun Prince impression with a chase-down block followed by a transition bucket from Duncan Robinson gave Detroit a double-digit lead. Newly acquired Kevin Huerter even got some minutes before the end of the quarter.
With a 94-80 lead heading into the final frame, things were looking good for Detroit in the Battle of the #1 Seeds. OKC was playing a lot of zone defense, though, Cade did a good job of picking it apart. While the Pistons relied on scoring from inside, the Thunder looked to score from deep. They were consistently shooting threes, with 10 attempts coming from Jaylin Williams who finished with a career-high 30 points. The entire team would shoot 18-for-49 from deep – Detroit’s season-high in attempts is 43.
Those OKC threes landed in the fourth quarter and they made it a five-point game with 5:30 left behind a 11-2 Thunder run. Guards Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, and Jarden McCain contributed with at least 20 points each. Every time they made it close, Cade would carve up the Oklahoma City defense to keep the game just out of reach. It wasn’t the performance you’d hope to see after hearing more than half of their rotation was out, but Detroit now owns a 1-0 record over OKC this season after a 124-116 victory tonight.
It was the Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren show for Detroit as they were the focal point of the offense and were able to capitalize with the lack of interior presence for the Thunder. Both players had 29 points while Cade added 13 assists and JD had 15 rebounds. The two combined to shoot 23-for-33 (69.7%) for an incredibly efficient night. Cunningham also added in multiple highlight reel blocks as he continues to show he’s a complete, two-way hooper.
Duncan Robinson had 16 points including three threes and five free throws, three of which came in the clutch after getting fouled on an attempted three-pointer with less than two minutes left. Ausar did Ausar things tonight and finished with a stat line of 11 points, four rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and two blocks. Thompson had a great bounce back game after being benched in the second half against San Antonio.
The gauntlet of potential playoff previews continues with another primetime matchup, this time on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Go Stones.