Reversal of fortune: NBA-worst Pistons stun West-leading Thunder

The Detroit Pistons unleashed a dominating scoring run midway through the second half and the team with the NBA’s worst record earned a 120-104 home victory over the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, January 28 (Monday, January 29, Manila time).

Jalen Duren scored 22 points with a career-high 21 rebounds and Jaden Ivey added 19 points as the Pistons used a decisive 20-6 scoring burst from the late third into the fourth quarter to win for the second time in three games. Detroit was playing without star Cade Cunningham for injury-maintenance purposes.

Behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 13 of his game-high 31 points in the third quarter, Oklahoma City cut a 14-point deficit to 87-84 with 4:21 remaining in the period.

Detroit answered with a 13-2 surge to close out the third, and the run carried over into the final quarter. The Pistons’ lead swelled to as many as 19 points thanks to balanced scoring and aggressive defense.

Eight Pistons scored 9 points or more, while Duren added 6 assists to his double-double.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and Marcus Sasser added 12 points off the bench for Detroit. Isaiah Stewart scored 11 points and Alec Burks had 10 points off the bench.

The Pistons held the Thunder to 8-of-28 shooting from three-point range (28.6%). Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Josh Giddey added 12 for Oklahoma City.

Chet Holmgren, who grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds for the Thunder, shot 4-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-5 from 3-point range en route to 9 points.

The 16-point margin of victory matched Detroit’s largest this season, also done October 28 in a 118-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Two days later, starting with a road loss to the Thunder, the Pistons began their NBA-record losing streak of 28 games.

Cunningham, who returned from an eight-game absence due to a knee injury in Saturday’s contest, was a late scratch on Sunday. – Rappler.com