I don’t know what they did, but the Detroit Pistons certainly used their six days off wisely as they came out focused, energized, and ferocious in a 142-115 rout of the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena.
No player reached 25 minutes of playing time, no player took more than 10 shots, and all 13 players who saw the floor scored for the Pistons.
Detroit was led by Isaiah Stewart, which I feel like must only happen on a night when the Pistons are clicking. He scored 17 points, hit a 3-pointer, had five rebounds and five assists. Cade Cunningham had 15 points and seven assists on the night. The only blemish on Detroit’s ledger was that Cunningham left the game, favoring his bicep after a hard foul midway through the third quarter, and never returned.
There has been no official word, but at the point Detroit was already up 21 and finished the quarter up 25 so the fact he didn’t return likely had as much to do with the blowout as any physical issue.
The game started out like a heavyweight fight between two big-time fighters, with both sides playing hard on the defensive end, and executing at a high level and hitting tough shots on offense. There were 13 lead changes in the first quarter and Detroit was up just one, 34-33.
The Pistons continued playing hard for three quarters. The Hawks didn’t. It was Detroit’s most complete game of the season.
Actually, saying Detroit played hard doesn’t really do their performance justice. They played with a focus and intensity we’ve rarely seen this season, and that is saying something about a team that entered the night 19-5 whose calling card is defense and tenacity.
They were pushing the ball down the floor, cutting to the basket, driving to the rim, and creating opportunities for themselves and others. On defense, they were creating chaos. Defensive communication was in top form; they were switching, hedging, and disrupting passing lanes. Detroit had 16 steals on the night and turned them into 30 fastbreak points. They also had a 72-50 advantage in the paint.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 22 points, and Jalen Johnson had his third consecutive triple-double, setting a franchise record for the Hawks.
It was such a significant blowout that it created some space to give Jaden Ivey the ball a little more, and he is looking just a bit more comfortable every time out on the floor. He’s still got a ways to go, but he’s figuring out how to score with what his body is able to deliver as he continues ramping up. He scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Marcus Sasser scored his first points of the season for the Pistons after missing the team’s first 23 games with a hip injury. He hit all three of his shots, starting with a stepback 3 and hitting a couple of tough shots in the lane. I’m not sure what Sasser’s avenue for playing time is with so many Pistons playing so well, but there will come a time when they are in desperate need of his scoring chops, so it was good to see him get some run.
Detroit plays its next eight out of 10 games on the road, including a trip to Boston on Monday. After that, it will be six consecutive games against teams with losing records, including five of those on the road. It could be a big stretch for the Pistons. Let’s hope they stay as locked in as they were tonight.