You wouldn’t have thought this was the third game in four nights for Detroit given the energy they played with. Minnesota didn’t have Anthony Edwards for this one, but it was still a back-and-forth game until the Pistons were able to pull away late for the 113-108 victory.
The Timberwolves had the unique start of attempting seven straight three-pointers while Detroit focused on getting the ball down low. Jalen Duren had plenty of action early and was unbothered by Rudy Gobert for a quick eight points
in the first five minutes. After Detroit took an 18-12 lead halfway through the first, Minnesota settled in and ended the quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 31-30 lead.
They say basketball is a game of runs, and this game was full of them. Pistons kicked off the quarter with one of their own, but a Tobias Harris drive ended up knocking knees with Gobert early in the second. Harris would be ruled out shortly after due to a left knee contusion. Daniss Jenkins stepped up to carry the offensive load and ended up leading the team in shot attempts and points. He and Duncan Robinson both had 10 points at the half of a 54-54 tie game.
Mike Conley led the way for Minnesota in place of Edwards and a had a game-high 14 points. Duren continued his All-NBA play with 13 points and six rebounds, including another midrange jumper that was nothing but net. The announcers of the Amazon Prime broadcast mentioned that he was 8-for-9 on shots outside of the paint this year. As exciting as it may be to imagine him with a jump shot one day, no team has found an answer for him at the rim yet.
Jenkins was the spark to the Pistons offense early in the third quarter as they got off on another 7-0 run. Detroit looked like they were going to push their lead after back-to-back threes from Kevin Huerter and Javonte Green, but Minnesota always had an answer. Marcus Sasser and Bones Hyland got into some extracurricular activities and received double technical fouls – it would be Detroit’s 54th of the year, most in the NBA.
The Timberwolves held a 80-79 lead heading into the final quarter, but it wasn’t long until Little Caesars Arena would have the loudest moment of the night. Detroit reclaimed the lead with eight minutes left after a Jenkins and-one and a lefty spinning layup by Ausar Thompson.
Thompson got his career-high ninth assist by finding Ron Holland for an impressive drive and slam in the middle of the Minnesota defense. Duncan Robinson followed that up with a transition lob to Ausar who threw down a two-handed flush right on top of Donte DiVincenzo that almost blew the roof off of LCA. You could see Jarrett Jack and Cade Cunningham celebrating together on the bench with a chest bump, just for Jack to quickly apologize to Cunningham due to his injury.
That alley-oop gave Detroit a seven-point lead, but Duncan Robinson put the dagger in the Wolves’ back with a movement three to put Detroit up 103-92. The Pistons would knock down their free throws late and go on to win 113-108.
This was a complete game by Daniss Jenkins to finish with 26 points, five rebounds, and eight assists. He has been fantastic sliding into the starting lineup during Cade’s injury and has been a huge part of Detroit’s success this season. He was a great find by Trajan Langdon and it’ll be interesting to see if he doesn’t make in JB Bickerstaff’s playoff rotation.
Jalen Duren had 22 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and three stocks in 36 minutes. It is all but a forgone conclusion that Duren is going to get paid this summer, and it’s rightfully so. He has most likely earned himself an All-NBA nomination with his play after the All-Star Break. He has taken over as the #1 option during Cade’s injury and has helped keep Detroit as the top team in the East.
Ausar Thompson has the most Ausar Thompson-like stat line ever with seven points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and three blocks in 31 minutes. His athletic gravity is felt no matter where he is on the court and I’m not convinced he isn’t able to fly. Duncan Robinson did Duncan Robinson things and Kevin Huerter does a great job of doing Duncan Robinson things off of the bench.
I’d like to officially enter Naz Reid into the bucket of potential offseason acquisitions for Trajan Langdon. Caris LeVert’s expiring contract is enough to get a deal done this summer and Reid has 3+ years left on his deal at roughly $25 million per year. You could slot him in as the starting PF and ask Tobias Harris to take the sixth-man role off the bench. But, that’s an article for another time.
The Pistons will travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers Saturday night.
Go Stones.
