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.
SACRAMENTO — A late Sacramento Kings run made the Detroit Pistons sweat, but they pulled off a road victory on Tuesday, Dec. 23.
The Pistons beat the Kings, 136-127, to improve to 24-6 this season. The Pistons led 121-100 after a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer with 11:08 remaining in the game. But a late 10-2 Kings run reduced their lead to 129-120, with 3:10 on the clock.
DeMar DeRozan (37 points, eight assists) cut it to nine again with a layup at the 1:37 mark, and Russell Westbrook (27 points) slashed it to eight with a split trip at the foul line with just under a minute left. But Ausar Thompson made a pair of free throws on the other end to push it back to double digits and give the Pistons enough cushion.
Jalen Duren (23 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks) and Cade Cunningham (23 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds, five steals) both had double-doubles. Cunningham had a season-worst nine turnovers. Tobias Harris led the team with 24 points, and Thompson (19 points, six rebounds) and Isaiah Stewart (16 points) also reached double figures.
Ron Holland (left knee sprain) missed his second straight game for the Pistons.
It was a dominant first half for the Pistons, who set a season-high in points scored (75) and tied their biggest halftime lead (17). They shot 62% overall, 7-for-14 from 3 and dished 21 assists against four turnovers. Defensively, they held the lowly Kings (7-23) to 42.2% overall and just 3-for-15 (20%) from behind the arc.Â
They led by double digits for most of the second half despite Sacramento building a significant advantage in free throw attempts, 30 to 12, through three quarters. Harris beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer, and Cunningham opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point play to push their lead to 118-97.Â
Overall, it was one of the Pistons’ best offensive nights of the season. Their 38 assists crushed their previous season-high of 34, and they ended the night with an 53.7% overall clip.
Pistons off to best 30-game start in 20 years
Only the 2005-06 Pistons, who were 25-5 through their first 30 games and went on to win a franchise-best 64 games, got off to a better start than this Pistons team has.Â
According to Cleaning The Glass, the Pistons are tied with the Denver Nuggets with the league’s fourth-best point differential (plus-8.4), which is points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions. In simpler terms, they’ve been strong on both ends of the floor. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets are ahead.Â
The Pistons boast the second-best defense in the NBA (defensive rating of 109.3) and ninth-best offense (117.7 offensive rating).
They have four more wins in the Eastern Conference than the second-place New York Knicks, and six more wins than the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.Â
Jalen Duren owns paint, dominates third quarter
A night prior, the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have an answer for Duren’s physicality. He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and a steal on 11-for-15 shooting.
A night later in Sacramento, he picked up where he left off.Â
Duren scored 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter on perfect 6-for-6 shooting, finishing 10-for-15. It’s the first time Duren has scored at least 20 in back-to-back games since Nov. 17-18, when he posted 31 and 24 points, respectively, in wins over the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks.
Pistons schedule
The Pistons are off for two days, then visit the Utah Jazz (10-19) on Friday (9:30 p.m.) in the middle game of this five-game road trip. They visit the Los Angeles Clippers (8-21) on Sunday (9 p.m.) and Los Angeles Lakers (19-9) next Tuesday (10:30 p.m., NBC).
The Pistons return home for a New Year’s Day game against Miami (7 p.m.).
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on XÂ @omarisankofa.