Coty Davis asks Ausar Thompson about his 21-point, 12-rebound performance against Boston.
Coty Davis asks Ausar Thompson about his 21-point, 12-rebound performance against Boston.
Detroit — For coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the start of the season is always exciting, particularly when his team is hosting a home opener. The Detroit Pistons (2-1) played their first regular-season home game at Little Caesars Arena and, as they did in last season’s resurgence, the fans created an electrifying atmosphere.
After a slow start, the Pistons ultimately gave their fans something to celebrate with a 119-113 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon.
“We are able to make up for a lot of our mistakes,” Tobias Harris said. “We have a lot to work on, but at the same time, this is a gritty club. We are going to fight, night in and night out. I thought we did a great job of staying together and keeping our focus. Being able to close out a victory.”
The Pistons’ ability to rebound from a poor start is one reason team owner Tom Gores is excited about the season. As he drove to the arena with his family, he couldn’t help but reflect on the past 10 years when the start of the regular season brought him personal misery.
However, the Pistons’ resurgence has altered his perspective. For the first time since he assumed sole ownership of the franchise in 2015, he entered the season with winning expectations. While sitting courtside, he watched as the Pistons met his aspirations.
“We have to win games, but it has never been better. Everything is starting to come together,” Gores said. “Between the players we have, the front office and coaching are all really connecting. It has been a decade trying to get where we are today. It has taken a lot of patience and hard times, but I feel great. I feel like we are set up to be a sustainable winner.”
BOX SCORE: Pistons 119, Celtics 113
Highlighted by Bickerstaff, several intangibles have Gores excited; however, none more so than watching the growth and development of his players, especially Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
Duren recorded his first double-double of the season with 24 points and 13 rebounds. He bounced back after his previous performance in Houston ended early because of an ejection. Duren found his rhythm in the third quarter, contributing 13 points to the Pistons’ dominance.
“He was huge, he dominated the paint,” Cunningham said. “They (the Celtics) tried to keep him off the glass as best as they could, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. If he keeps playing like that, he is going to be hard to stop.”
Thompson recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He came up huge down the stretch to keep the Pistons from blowing a 15-point lead.
With three minutes remaining in the period, the Pistons were ahead 109-106 when Thompson leaped in to clean up Harris’ missed layup with a two-handed put-back dunk. On the Pistons’ next offensive possession, he made an and-1 layup, which extended Detroit’s lead to 113-106.
“He’s not one-dimensional as an offensive player,” Bickerstaff said. “Getting offensive rebounds and putbacks helps our offense, making cuts when other guys have the ball, buying the vision, catching the ball in the paint, helps our offense.”
Bickerstaff continued, “When he makes plays, when he attacks the paint, that helps our offense. There’s so many different ways that he can help us offensively. He’s just going to continue to grow and get more comfortable, but I think he’s in a really good place right now.”
Cunningham finished with 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting and eight assists. Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics with a game-high 41 points on 12-of-25 shooting, 5-of-9 on 3-point shooting. Payton Pritchard added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pistons have won two straight after opening the season with a loss in Chicago on Wednesday. The Celtics are 0-3 to start the year.
“This was probably the best home opener I’ve had in my career. It was exciting,” Cunningham said. “Coming out and seeing all of the love, feeling all of the love from the fans. We have the best fans in the world. It was great to come into the home opener and get a win for them.”
â–¶The bench unit changed the tone for Detroit:Â A two-handed dunk from Thompson was the only thing that went right for the Pistons during the first six minutes. A lousy start by their starting unit left Detroit in an early 17-point hole.
The Pistons struggled to find their rhythm until Bickerstaff deployed a lineup of Javonte Green, Ron Holland, Chaz Lanier, and Isaiah Stewart. With Thompson at point guard, this group raised the intensity on both ends, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
“Credit to our bench group. I thought our bench group came in and gave great energy and just changed the spirit of the game there,” Bickerstaff said. “The fight that they had, like loose balls, rebounds, getting back in transition, defending the way that we know we are capable of. I give our bench a ton of credit because I think they sparked us tonight.”
Injury update:Â Before the game, Bickerstaff provided an update on Caris LeVert (hamstring) and Marcus Sasser (hip). He revealed that both players are “progressing,” but the team will hold them out until they are fully healthy. LeVert missed his second consecutive game, while Sasser missed his third.
“It is just going to be a matter of time with how they respond,” Bickerstaff said. “They are both doing stuff on the floor, but we always have to wait and see how the next day is and to make sure that we can stack consecutive days of them getting better.”
coty.davis@detroitnews.com
@cotydavis_24
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