The Pistons did the splits

This is yet another result that no one saw coming. In difficulty the day before against Washington, the worst team in the league (after them), the Pistons found the resources to beat Oklahoma City! Even in “back-to-back”, even without Cade Cunningham, left to rest as a precaution, Monty Williams' players managed to create a surprise. And in this particularly complicated season, victories of this kind are to be fully savored.

The match started very badly, however, since the Thunder led by 10 points after less than four minutes of play (5-15), forcing Monty Williams to stop the game.

“I just believe that our players are mobilized. When I called time out, I said that I was fine with our opponents putting their shots in, but that we had to fight the way we fought afterwards to give ourselves a chance to win. We had every good reason to make excuses. We were back-to-back, facing the best team in the West, but we gave everything.”, he declared after the meeting. “It was really great to come back after a tough loss like the day before, and produce that kind of effort in front of our fans. It was very cool. And to hear the crowd give us a standing ovation at the end, I know it’s something our guys appreciated.”

For once, all the lights turned green in favor of Detroit, notably with a second quarter with 46 points scored which changed the dynamic, allowing the locals to approach the rest with good momentum. Enough to give wings to the group, despite the difficulty of the situation they have to experience on a daily basis.

“I think it was a question of energy on both ends of the court”, underlined Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “They played with great energy, beating us to snatch the ball, playing hard… As the match went on, we weren't able to compete with the same energy. Of course they deserved the victory.”

Jalen Duren's boost

For Monty Williams, it is also the satisfaction of seeing his group evolve in the right direction, on the principles of play that he tries to instill in his players, starting with the importance of mastering the fundamentals of the game, these small details which ultimately change the course and outcome of a match.

“We always talk about shots, rebounds and loose balls. If you win in these three categories, you will probably win the match. I believe that tonight is the first time this season that we have won on all three fronts. Limiting turnovers just gave us the opportunity to get more shots. The day before, we must have been 15 fewer shots taken, at 85 against 100 or something like that. Tonight we had three more. We knew how to take care of the ball”added the Pistons strategist.

To top it off, after seeing Marvin Bagley III have fun with his new Wizards team on Saturday, Detroit had the pleasure of witnessing the XXL performance of Jalen Duren, with 22 points, 21 rebounds (his career record) and 6 assists. Alongside Jaden Ivey and Bojan Bogdanovic, the pivot was one of the satisfactions of the evening.

“It was really good, especially after the game against Washington, where we didn't play well and nothing happened the way we wanted. We were sluggish, whereas today, the watchword was to maintain this energy. We knew what kind of team we were facing. They played well all season, they're a playoff team, so we knew we had to be ready.”, he confidedhighlighting the collective result before individual performance. “What makes me the happiest is that we got the victory. It was really an important victory, especially after what we did the day before.”