The Washington Wizards and their young squad kicked off the game on a 13-4 run. Cade Cunningham put a stop to it with a right-handed hammer to add another poster to his MVP highlight reel. Detroit created a run of their own, including a strong drive from Ausar Thompson who bumped off his defender in the lane for an easy dunk. A 15-4 Pistons run gave them a three-point lead halfway through the first.
Cunningham went for a lose ball and ended up in collision that looked eerily similar to the Jaden Ivey injury last year. Cade was slow to get up and was ruled out early in the second quarter due to back spasms. It looked nowhere near the severity of the Ivey injury, but Cade immediately went to the locker room and never returned. By the end of the quarter, it was a 32-32 tie game and Duren led the way for Detroit with nine points and six rebounds.
It would be up to his teammates to figure out how to run JB Bickerstaff’s offense without Cade for the rest of the game. Daniss Jenkins, Marcus Sasser, Kevin Huerter, and Javonte Green would all see minutes as guards off the bench. While Washington was up one through the first four minutes of the quarter, a Huerter circus layup followed by a Sasser three created a 15-5 Pistons run to give them a nine-point lead.
Detroit would take a 63-57 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Jalen Duren carried the scoring load with 11 points and eight rebounds while Duncan Robinson added six points. Marcus Sasser stepped into the playmaking role with a team-high four assists. Head coach JB Bickerstaff played 12 total players in the first half.
Daniss Jenkins started the second half in Cunningham’s absence. It turned into The Jalen Duren Show as he had 14 points in the first six minutes of the third quarter. Washington had no answers for him down low and he has most certainly become a dominant force in the NBA. A Ron Holland three gave Detroit an 18-point lead over Washington and the Pistons would be up 100-83 at the end of the third.
Paul Reed held down the center position with Duren on the bench and Isaiah Stewart on the injury report. Daniss Jenkins looked like the player he was prior to getting his NBA contract and Caris LeVert even knocked down two threes. Washington was able to cut the Detroit lead to 11 with five minutes left, but with Jalen Duren back in the game, there was still no stopping him and the Pistons in the paint.
JD was getting to the rim whenever he wanted and forced Washington into a timeout after sloppy defense where Duren found Tobias Harris on a back door cut to make it a 126-110 Detroit lead. After JD got another dunk in transition for his 36th point of the night, Detroit would go on to win 130-117.
Duren finished with a career-high 36 points and 12 rebounds. He shot 13-for-17 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. It’s truly impressive how much his game has grown already in his short NBA career. He’s already one of the most dominant big men in the league and his ability to put the ball on the floor will continue to open up his game. It was the sixth 30+ points and 10+ rebounds game of the season for Jalen.
Daniss Jenkins added 15 points and seven assists while Tobias Harris added 12 points and six assists. Ron Holland had 10 points and five rebounds while both Caris LeVert and Paul Reed had 10 points. For those keeping track at home, Marcus Sasser, Kevin Huerter, and Daniss Jenkins all played more minutes off the bench than LeVert – only Holland, Reed, and Javonte Green played less.
The Pistons will stay in DC for two nights as they’ll play again on Thursday night – same place, same time, same team. Hopefully Cade’s back feels better by then.
