TheDetroit Pistons finished preseason on a strong note, defeating the Toronto Raptors, 129-125, on Friday, Oct. 16 at Little Caesars Arena.
Cade Cunningham led the way with 18 points and seven assists on 8-for-12 shooting, and Jalen Duren, in his second exhibition, added 14 points and two steals on 6-for-9 shooting, though he also had six turnovers. Ebuka Okorie (14 points), Ausar Thompson (12 points on 5-for-5 shooting, four assists) and John Collins (12 points, eight rebounds) also scored in double figures. The Pistons held Toronto to 42.9% shooting while hitting 58% of their own looks.
The Raptors shut down the majority of their regular-season rotation on the second night of a preseason back-to-back. Superstar forward Kawhi Leonard sat out,
as did two-time All-Star Scottie Barnes and the rest of their starting lineup. The Pistons, on the other hand, stuck with their starting five – Cunningham, Duren, Thompson, Collins and Duncan Robinson – before eventually going 18-deep into the rotation.
The Pistons led by as many as 13, but a 13-0 fourth quarter run against the end of the Pistons' bench allowed Toronto to take the lead, 100-99, with 7:08 to play. Okorie, the Pistons' first-round pick in June, didn't check in until the fourth but helped them close out the win, supplying 14 points in the final period on 4-for-4 shooting. With 45.6 seconds left, the 19-year-old knocked down two free throws to extend their lead 125-119, then iced it with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
Raptors guard (and Michigan alumnus) Nimari Burnett hit a corner 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left to cut the lead to one, 125-124.
The Pistons finish preseason 3-1 and will now get ready for the the NBA season opener against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday (3 p.m., NBC).
Jalen Duren shows off offensive bag
After dazzling with 24 points in 15 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, Duren picked up where he left off. Outside of his usual diet of alley-oops and paint finishes, he once again showed off an improved handle and the ability to knock down short jumpers.
Two buckets stood out – the first, a size-up on 7-foot-5 Raptors big Jamarion Sharp that ended with a 10-foot fadeaway from midrange. The second was a controlled spinning layup after he drove down the middle of the lane with 2:45 to play in the third.
After missing the first two preseason games, Duren dominated in his exhibition debut and followed with a performance Friday indicating that the first wasn’t a fluke. The 22-year-old is doing the same things he did during his breakout All-NBA third-team campaign last year, but he has diversified his game and is showing that he can break down opposing defenses in a variety of ways.
Ausar Thompson flashes offensive growth, too
Early in the second quarter, Thompson sized up his defender and attacked. He lost Burnett with a crossover dribble and finished with his left – the first of several aggressive moves by the fourth-year forward.
Thompson consistently made plays with the ball in his hands. Later in the first, he found Duren in transition for an alley-oop and finished a cutting layup himself, courtesy of a well-angled bounce pass from Paul Reed. A skip pass to Robinson in the corner set up an open wing catch-and-shoot 3 for Cunningham.
In the third, Thompson was everywhere. He knocked down a midrange jumper in isolation, drove and found Duren cutting down the middle for a dunk and then, following a steal, Cunningham in transition for a dunk. Toronto’s defense couldn’t ignore him and his vision and willingness to shoot helped the Pistons’ offense flow.
Isaiah Joe finds shooting touch
It had been a rough preseason for Joe, who came over from the Oklahoma City Thunder in an offseason trade, leading into Friday. He shot just 27.9% overall and 11.1% (2-for-18) from 3 through their first three games – far below his career averages of 43.6% and 40.6%, respectively.
To open the preseason, Joe took a lot of tough off-the-dribble attempts, hence the low percentages. But he settled into a rhythm against the Raptors, knocking down a 3 toward the end of the first quarter before knocking down a foot-on-the-line 2-pointer at the buzzer. He added another 3-pointer – a stepback – with 19 seconds to play before halftime.
The 27-year-old sharpshooter will be a key role player this season. It was a modest statline for him on Friday – 10 points, 2-for-3 shooting from 3 – but the production was closer to what the Pistons will expect from him during the regular season.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jalen Duren breaks out offense in Detroit Pistons preseason-ending win
