Coty Davis talks to Cade Cunningham after the Pistons’ victory in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Coty Davis talks to Cade Cunningham after the Pistons’ victory in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Detroit — With 1.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, coach J.B. Bickerstaff designed a play in an attempt to prevent the Detroit Pistons from suffering an upset against the Washington Wizards. At the time, the Pistons had battled back from a 13-point deficit and trailed Washington by three (127-124).
With Cade Cunningham inbounding the ball, Bickerstaff likely called upon Duncan Robinson or Chaz Lanier for a game-tying basket, but the play was disrupted when Jalen Duren fell while attempting to set screens. With no other options available, Cunningham attempted a pass to Daniss Jenkins, who was open in the corner.
“I was just watching the play and everybody fell down,” Jenkins said. “The ball ended up in my hands. After that, I caught it and shot it with confidence.”
Jenkins’ 3-point field goal over the top of Wizards’ Bub Carrington at the end of regulation sent the game into overtime. His clutch basket in the final seconds became the pinnacle of his career performance, which helped the Pistons take a 137-135 overtime win.
The two-way prospect who went undrafted during the 2024 NBA Draft came up huge for the Pistons amid injuries and fatigue. He notched a career-high 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting, 4-of-6 3-point shooting, to go along with eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.
“You dream of stuff like this,” Jenkins said. “To come out and hit that type of shot, I was just filled with a lot of joy and excitement. … It’s all just a testament to who I am.”
In 34 minutes, Jenkins’ production and late-game heroics helped the Pistons win their seventh consecutive game. They are 9-2 on the season.
“There’s a grit to them. There’s a toughness to them. I couldn’t be more proud of their effort,” Bickerstaff said. “Down as many bodies as we were, a tough game last night, a team [Washington] sitting here waiting on us fresh, down 13 in the fourth quarter; we had plenty of times where we could have given it up and just got ready for Wednesday. But that’s not the nature of this group, just to see the way we did it and how many different people contributed.”
The Pistons were down six players. Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson were all out due to their respective ankle sprains. Caris LeVert missed the game due to left knee injury management, while Jaden Ivey (knee) and Marcus Sasser (hip) have yet to play this season.
BOX SCORE: Pistons 137, Wizards 135 (OT)
Harris missed his fifth straight game since injuring himself against the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 1. Before the game, Bickerstaff said that Harris has a high ankle sprain but is improving each day. They are hopeful to have the veteran forward “back soon.”
With several rotational players absent, Bickerstaff had to rely on his bench to fill the gaps; however, Cunningham — the reigning Player of the Week — did everything he could to prevent Detroit from losing.
He led the Pistons in scoring with a career-high 46 points, shooting 14-of-45 from the field, and also contributed 12 rebounds and 10 assists. He experienced a minor injury scare with 4:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. While attempting a dunk, Cunningham fell hard on his back amid a block attempt by Wizards forward Cam Whitmore.
“He was slow to get up, but I did not like the way (the foul) happened,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s one thing if you foul a guy. But when you take a guy out of the air, you don’t walk up on him. That is something we will talk to the league about. But it shows the resiliency of Cade and not wanting to let his teammates down. He did not want to give up. He continued to fight. He led us to a victory.”
Cunningham’s and Jenkins’ career performances helped the Pistons overcome an exceptional night from CJ McCollum. The veteran guard scored a season-high 42 points on 14-of-24 shooting, while Alex Sarr added a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Duren, who also received votes for Eastern Conference Player of the Week, finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Robinson scored 11 points with three made 3-point field goals.
“Our identity is together, and everything that we do is together,” Bickerstaff said. “We believe in all these guys who can help us. They’ve all bought into it, and tonight was a clear picture of it.”
Observations and notes
▶ Fatigue started to show during the third quarter: After a competitive game 24 hours earlier against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Pistons struggled against the Wizards, experiencing a downturn during the third quarter.
They hit a wall, shooting 7-of-21 from the field. The Pistons’ fatigue really began to set in on the defensive end, where they allowed the Wizards to shoot 14-of-24 from the floor with five made triples, which led to Washington outscoring Detroit 35-20.
The exhaustion led to the Pistons being far away from their regular production during the period, where they had recorded 29.5 points through the first 10 games. No player showed more fatigue than Cunningham, who missed a handful of layups.
▶ Thompson was spotted in a walking booth: It wasn’t a surprise when the Pistons ruled Ausar Thompson out against the Wizards. He turned his right ankle in the first quarter against the Sixers 24 hours earlier. He finished the game, posting 14 points in the win, but left Xfinity Mobile Arena walking with a significant limp.
Bickerstaff did not provide a timetable for Thompson’s return; however, it seems that the third-year forward may miss at least one more game. He was spotted on the sideline wearing a walking boot.
coty.davis@detroitnews.com
@cotydavis_24
Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.