The Detroit Pistons will not celebrate Christmas at home. Instead, they will spend the holiday far from family and friends due to a five-game West Coast road trip that began Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Every member of the Pistons’ organization would rather be with their loved ones for Christmas, but a few victories on the road trip would ease the pain.

Their trip got off to a good start with a 110-102 victory over the Trail Blazers at Moda Center. The Pistons improved to 23-6 on the season while winning eight of their last 10 games.

“We just have to take every day a day at a time,” Ausar Thompson said. “We have to take tomorrow a day at a time to beat Sacramento (Kings). We just have to go about it day-by-day.”

It was a collective effort for Detroit, especially since Cade Cunningham spent much of the night in foul trouble. He fouled out with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter after Sidy Cissoko baited the All-Star guard into an offensive foul. He was limited to 25 minutes, finishing with 14 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.

Cunningham left the game early while the Trail Blazers were mounting a fourth-quarter comeback, overcoming a 21-point deficit. Portland outscored Detroit 19-4 during the period, en route to Deni Avdija’s layup, bringing the Trail Blazers within two points (99-97) with 4:46 left in the period.

BOX SCORE: Pistons 110, Trail Blazers 102

On the Trail Blazers’ next offensive possession, Toumani Camara’s 3-pointer gave Portland its first lead of the night at 100-99.

“That was discipline on our part, myself included,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Making sure that we toe the line, but stay focused on the task at hand. I felt like we got away from that. That’s my responsibility to hold them to it, but also act accordingly. We have to do a better job.”

However, the Pistons regained their composure during the final four minutes, relying on Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, who scored consecutive layups to reclaim the lead and momentum.

Duren scored a team-high 26 points, to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks. He scored 14 points in the third quarter, which helped the Pistons hold a 21-point lead at the 6:25 mark of the period. Thompson added 18 points, 12 rebounds and three steals.

He ended the Trail Blazers’ hopes for a comeback with a minute left in the period. He converted Tobias Harris’ missed jumper with a putback dunk. Thompson’s performance was a surprising one, given that he picked up three fouls during the first quarter.

“Give our guys a ton of credit. Down the stretch, so many guys made so many plays for us,” Bickerstaff said. “It speaks to the depth and collective of this team.”

Duncan Robinson finished with 15 points despite shooting 4-of-14 from the field for Detroit. Shaedon Sharpe led the Trail Blazers with 25 points, while Avdija registered 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Observations and notes

â–¶ Ivey’s impressive start: The game against the Trail Blazers marked a month since Jaden Ivey returned from injury. He is still working his way back, but had one of his most impressive performances of the season. Ivey helped the Pistons take a 61-51 lead into the halftime break, where he scored nine of his 11 points.

“He is coming along,” Bickerstaff said. “He is not in an easy position. He is gaining his confidence, understanding where he fits and how to pick his spots. We want him to be aggressive. We want him to play like J.I. … We feel like he is progressing well. The best is still to come.”

▶ Holland misses first career game due to injury: For the second time in his career, Ron Holland II was sidelined; however, his absence against the Trail Blazers marked the first career game he missed due to injury.

Bickerstaff revealed that Holland took a fall during Saturday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets. The stumble led to soreness in his left knee over the past two days. His status for Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings remains in jeopardy, and there is no timetable for his return.

â–¶ Jenkins leaves a significant impact as floor general: In every game, at least one Piston has stats that don’t fully capture their impact. Against the Trail Blazers, Daniss Jenkins took charge. He arguably played the most critical role in helping the Pistons establish their early dominance in Portland.

When he first entered the game with two minutes left in the first quarter, the score was still close, with the Pistons leading 23-20. Once Jenkins was on the court, the Pistons began to gain momentum on both ends of the floor, especially on offense, as he took charge as the team’s primary floor general in the absence of Cunningham.

When Bickerstaff replaced Jenkins with Cunningham at the 7:18 mark of the second period, the production of the second-year guard helped the Pistons establish a 10-point lead (40-30). Jenkins finished with five points and three assists in 13 minutes.

coty.davis@detroitnews.com

@cotydavis_24

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