PHOENIX — A poor night from beyond the arc, and a big night by Dillon Brooks, doomed the Detroit Pistons on the road.
They were blown out by the Phoenix Suns, 114-96, on Thursday, Jan. 29. Brooks, in his first season with the Suns after an offseason trade from Memphis, went off for 40 points while shooting 59.1%. The Pistons made him look even better while struggling from 3: Tobias Harris hit three of four tries from the arc, while his teammates hit just three of 25.
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Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 23 points and seven assists, and Jalen Duren added 23 points and 13 rebounds. Grayson Allen added 24 points for the Suns.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) defends against Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
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The Pistons couldn’t slow Brooks or the Suns’ offense in the first half, allowing them to shoot 55.8%. They trailed by 16 at halftime, 72-56, and trailed in 3-point shooting (47.4% to 26.7%) and second-chance points (15-6).
Momentum shifted in the Pistons’ favor in the second half, initially. They opened the third quarter with an 18-5 run to cut the deficit to three, 77-74, at the 7:13 mark. But the Suns answered with a 16-3 run to extend their lead back to 16 with 1:54 on the clock. Brooks capped the run with a pair of free throws, giving him 38 points.
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The Pistons got back within single digits with a 10-3 run to open the fourth period. But they couldn’t find a groove offensively despite stepping up defensively, holding the Suns to 36.8% overall in the third quarter. A corner 3-pointer from Royce O’Neale pushed their lead to 14, 103-89 , midway through the fourth.
The loss dropped the Pistons (34-12) to a mere 5½ games up on the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference, while the Cleveland Cavaliers gained half a game as well, to make it a 6½-point Detroit lead in the Central Division. The Pistons won’t have much time to dwell on this one; they’re off to San Francisco to wrap up their three-game Western Conference jaunt against the Golden State Warriors on Friday (10 p.m., ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).
Shooting woes continue for Pistons
Phoenix has multiple dangerous shooters in its lineup, including Allen and Colin Gillespie. The Pistons couldn’t keep up as the Suns raced ahead in the 3-point battle early.
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The Suns knocked down five of their first seven attempts from deep and had a substantial advantage by halftime, going 9-for-19 against the Pistons’ 4-for-15. Detroit was even worse in the second half, shooting 2-for-14 (14.3%) from deep.
Outside shooting has been a weakness for the Pistons this season, and particularly in the past week. They defeated the Denver Nuggets on the road Wednesday, 109-107, despite shooting 6-for-31 (19.4%) from 3 as a team. Against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 23, they shot just 7-for-32 (21.9%).
Including their 20.7%% 3-point clip against the Suns, the Pistons have now suffered three of their six worst performances from the arc in their last four games.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons eclipsed by Phoenix Suns, 114-96