OKLAHOMA CITY — When the Detroit Pistons submitted their Monday afternoon injury report, Ausar Thompson was listed as the only starter available. Cade Cunningham (left lung pneumothorax), Duncan Robinson (right hip injury management), Tobias Harris (left hip injury management), Jalen Duren (right knee injury management) and even Isaiah Stewart (left calf strain) had all been ruled out.
Considering the Pistons were on the first night of back-to-back games, in Oklahoma City against a defending champion Thunder team with the best record in the NBA, a blowout loss seemed to be brewing. But of course, if you’ve been watching Detroit at all this year, you know it’s just not in this team’s nature to concede.
The Thunder needed overtime and 47 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to pull out a 114-110 win. While there’s no place in professional sports for moral victories, this was still one of the Pistons’ gutsiest performances this season.
“We go out there and fight every night; that’s our identity,” Javonte Green told The Athletic after draining a season-high five 3s. “That’s what coach (J.B. Bickerstaff) said before the game, ‘Play Pistons basketball, and we’ll have a chance to win this game.’ That’s what we did tonight. Put us up against anybody, if we go out there and play our brand of basketball, we’ll give everybody a run for their money.”
Green finished with 19 points, five rebounds and two steals on 50/46/100 shooting splits in his sixth start of the season. He was a plus-five in the loss, and one of six Detroit players to score in double figures. The confidence Green has in himself and his teammates permeates throughout the Pistons’ locker room regardless of the outcome or opponent.
“These are the fun games because they show guys’ true character,” guard Daniss Jenkins said. “We know how many guys were down. We know how important those guys are to our team. So the way we can come together and really fight in tough environments like this, that’s everything you can ask for. We did what we were supposed to do, and we should have won that game.”
Jenkins gave the Pistons their largest lead of the evening after Tolu Smith grabbed his fourth offensive rebound and kicked it out to Marcus Sasser, who swung it to an open Jenkins. Detroit held a 97-90 lead with 3:59 remaining and forced Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to signal for a timeout. Oklahoma City then proceeded to go on an 11-4 run to force overtime.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 of his 47 between the fourth quarter and overtime. The reigning MVP got to the free-throw line repeatedly, attempting more free throws (25) than the Pistons (23) did as a team. His 25 attempts from the line were the second-most in his career.
He connected on 21 of those while shooting 12 of 19 from the field and fouling Thompson out in the process. Thompson was whistled for a foul with 1:53 left when picking Gilgeous-Alexander up full court. He’d just stripped Gilgeous-Alexander for a steal on the previous possession that turned into a Kevin Huerter dunk in transition.
“You guys are trying to get me in trouble,” Bickerstaff said with a laugh when asked what he saw on Thompson’s sixth and final foul. “Listen, we played a hell of a game tonight. I’m not going to let the officiating take away from what our guys did tonight. Our guys played a hell of a game. They deserve a lot of credit for the way they went out and played. That’s that.”
Thompson finished with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. He was a game-high plus-19. Paul Reed, who Bickerstaff has said on multiple occasions prepares like a starter, notched his third double-double of the season. He added 21 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal.
“We’ve been doing this all year, so this ain’t nothing new,” Reed said. “We expected to come here and win. We came up short. But at the end of the day, we’ve got a group of guys working their butts off, praying for an opportunity like this all year long and staying ready. We take a lot of pride in that. So for the postseason it’s the same mentality: stay ready, when your name is called, come in and produce, help the team win.”
That mindset has been consistent for each Detroit player who’s been tasked with more responsibility during this seven-game stretch without their leader in Cunningham. The Pistons are now 5-2 since Cunningham went down with his collapsed left lung. Rather than boarding their flight back to Detroit dejected over the loss, they feel games like these aid in reaching their potential once they return to health.
“It gives everybody a chance to get their rhythm going,” Jenkins said. “Different guys get their rhythm going, so when we come back full we hit the ground running. Everybody is ready, everybody is in their rhythm, everybody’s got a flow. It should be really good for us.”