The Detroit Pistons ended their longest losing streak of the season, and avenged their worst loss, in convincing fashion.
They defeated the Brooklyn Nets on the road, 138-100, on Tuesday, March 10, to snap a four-game skid and improve to 46-18. The Pistons led by 16 during the opening period and were relentless for three quarters afterward, leading by as many as 43 and going full-throttle after failing to do so in an embarrassing 23-point collapse, sans Cade Cunningham, to the same team at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.
Cunningham and Jalen Duren each posted two of their most efficient performances of the season, with Cunningham finishing with a 21-point, 15-assist double-double while shooting 8-for-10 overall and 4-for-5 from 3. Duren led the Pistons with 26 points, four rebounds and two blocks, making nine of his 10 attempts from the field.
Two of the Pistons' biggest wins of the season have now come against Brooklyn, with Tuesday's ranking behind their 53-point destruction of the Nets on Feb. 1 and 43-point blowout of the Indiana Pacers Jan. 17.
Marcus Sasser started in place of Ausar Thompson (right ankle sprain) for the third game in a row. Caris LeVert (left wrist sprain) missed his second game in a row.
Detroit Pistons playoff status
With the victory, the Pistons picked up half a game in the Eastern Conference on the Boston Celtics, whose game against the San Antonio Spurs ended after the Pistons'. Detroit also improved to 6½ games up on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were idle, in the Central Division race.
Next up for the Pistons
The Pistons return home to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra). Philly picked up a 10-point win Tuesday over the Memphis Grizzlies, who will visit Little Caesars Arena on Friday night.
Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren nearly perfect in dominant half
The All-Star duo scored at will and were met by little resistance from the Nets. Cunningham entered the second half with 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-4 on 3s, and seven assists. His lone miss was a 3-point heave at the halftime buzzer. Duren added 16 points and a pair of blocks in that span, making all six of his attempts.
The Pistons led by 33 points, 73-40, at halftime, after outscoring Brooklyn, 35-13, in the second quarter. Coming off an underwhelming pair of performances, Duren was assertive from the jump on Tuesday and physically overpowered his defenders, bumping Clowney on a drive to the rim, drawing a foul on Nolan Traore while going right through his body, rising above the Nets defense for two-handed slams.
Cunningham and Duren established their two-man game early before Cunningham found a groove from the arc, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first quarter to extend their lead to 16. His fourth and final 3-pointer of the half with 1:08 left in the second quarter set their biggest lead of the game up to that point, 71-38.
That led an all-around efficient half on both ends for the Pistons, who shot 55.3% through the first two periods and went 9-for-18 from 3.
Cade Cunningham shooting better from 3-point arc
The 3-pointer hasn’t been a strength for Cunningham for most of this season, but he has knocked them down at a higher clip for a month now. Tuesday was his third game in a row with at least four 3-pointers, and fifth in 10 games. Prior to that stretch, he’d only done it three times total this season.
Since Feb. 11, Cunningham is shooting 42.5% from 3 on 7.3 attempts per game. In 46 games prior to Feb. 11, he shot 32.1% from 3 on 5.7 attempts. His performance against the Nets showcased how he’s shooting better.
He’s getting more arc and has been comfortable in a variety of situations – stepbacks, off the catch and pulling up when defenders duck under screens. He’s intentionally looking for the shot more, and also making them at a higher rate.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons snap losing streak with bashing of Brooklyn Nets