Where is Cade Cunningham in the MVP conversation?
Following the Pistons’ big win over the Boston Celtics, Omari and Bryce break down the improvements they’ve seen from the franchise star player.
PORTLAND, OR — With under four minutes to go in the third quarter, the Detroit Pistons led by 21 points and were on track to begin a five-game West Coast swing with a commanding win.
But a big Portland Trail Blazers run followed, and the Pistons needed clutch shots from Tobias Harris and Ausar Thompson in the final two minutes to hang onto the win. The Pistons held on to defeat the Blazers, 110-102, at Moda Center after closing the final period with an 11-2 run.
The Blazers went on a 31-9 run after the Pistons took their 21-point lead, 90-69, late in the third. A 3-pointer from Deni Avdija (18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds) gave Portland its first and only lead of the night, 100-99, with 4:12 left in the game. At that point, the Pistons had been outscored 22-4 in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons closed the win out without Cade Cunningham, who fouled out with less than nine minutes left. Jalen Duren led them with 26 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Ausar Thompson added 18 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, and Duncan Robinson had 15 points. They were without Ron Holland, who missed his first game of the season with left knee soreness.
After losing the lead, Tobias Harris (12 points) knocked down a pair of free throws and Thompson came up with a steal and fastbreak dunk to regain control. Duren followed with an offensive rebound and layup, and Harris’ midrange jumper at the 1:53 mark pushed the lead to six, 107-101.
With a minute to play, a putback dunk by Thompson extended the lead to 109-102, a dagger to finish it.
The win sent the Pistons to 23-6, the second-best 29-game start in franchise history (behind only the 2005-06 Pistons who opened 25-4 before fizzling out in the Eastern Conference finals). Next up, the Pistons head to Sacramento, California, for the second half of a back-to-back, facing the Kings on Tuesday (10 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).
Cunningham fouls out as tide shifts in second half
At halftime, the Pistons’ superstar had zero fouls. But Cunningham fouled out with 8:32 remaining in the game — and picked up a technical foul on his way to the bench — giving him six in just 9:07 on the court. He picked up back-to-back fouls early in the third quarter, the second leading to a 3-point play for Sharpe on a fastbreak dunk. A reach-in foul put him at five fouls with 3:28 left in the third, and he fouled out after pushing off on Blazers forward Sidy Cissoko.
The Blazers’ late run started after Cunningham’s fifth foul. They had full momentum by the time Cunningham fouled out. The technical free throw extended Portland’s run to 20-7, and a pair of free throws from Donovan Clingan cut their lead to six, 97-91, with 8:18 remaining.
The Pistons were stuck at four points scored in the fourth quarter until after the Blazers took the lead for the first and only time, 100-99, at the 4:12 mark. A pair of free throws from Harris broke their cold stretch and gave them the lead for good with under four minutes left.
Ivey shines in first half
After missing 11 months of basketball, Ivey has spent the past month simultaneously searching for a rhythm and figuring out his role on the team. He has had good and bad moments since making his season debut a month ago on Nov. 22. His second quarter against the Blazers was one of his best sustained stretches of basketball thus far, on both ends.
Ivey led the Pistons with seven points and two steals in the second period, and finished the night with 11 points. A corner 3-pointer gave the team a nine-point lead with under four minutes to play until halftime, and a steal and fastbreak layup at the 2:12 mark extended their lead to 58-42, their biggest of the first half. He also made sharp defensive rotations and had the final shot contest on a late 24-second violation by the Blazers. Ivey finished the half with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting.
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