The Detroit Pistons are division champs for the first time in nearly 20 years.
They defeated the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena, 127-116, on Tuesday, March 31, behind a dominant performance from Jalen Duren. The big finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while knocking down 12 of his 13 shot attempts. Daniss Jenkins added 21 points, and Duncan Robinson finished with 19.
With the win, the Pistons (55-21) clinched their first Central Division title since 2008. How long ago was that? Duren, the star Tuesday, was months away from turning 5 years old the last time the Pistons could raise a banner for a division title.
They are still in pole position to secure the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2007, with a 4½-game lead over the Boston Celtics. They also have won the fourth-most games in franchise history, surpassing four other iterations that won 54 games apiece..
Lights-out shooting in the third quarter allowed the Pistons to pull away. They outscored the Raptors 41-27 and made their first nine shots of the period to build a 23-point lead, 89-66, with 4:59 on the clock. More critically, they committed just three turnovers after turning it over 13 times in the first half, off of which the Raptors scored 23 points.
Detroit Pistons playoff picture
The Pistons are running out of things to play for in the regular season. In addition to clinching their first division title since 2007-08 – also the last season they won a playoff game at home and the last season they won a playoff series – they’ve clinched a playoff berth as well as homecourt advantage in the first round. More importantly, the Pistons dropped their “magic number” for clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs to just two – any combination of Celtics wins and Pistons wins equaling two will lock up the East for the Pistons for the first time since … the 2006-07 season.
Next up for the Pistons
That means the Pistons could clinch the East (and a date with the to-be-determined No. 8 seed) as early as Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. The Celtics face the Heat on the road on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., ESPN); a loss in Miami coupled with a Pistons win over the Minnesota Timberwolves (who lost to the Pistons on Saturday) on Thursday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit/Prime Video) would give the Pistons homecourt until the NBA Finals. (They entered Tuesday trailing the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder by 5½ games and the San Antonio Spurs by 2½ games.)
Pistons injury update
The Pistons were mostly back to full health after a shorthanded loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder a night prior. Duren (right knee injury management), Tobias Harris (left hip) and Duncan Robinson (right hip) all returned from a one-game absence. But they were still without Cade Cunningham (left lung pneumothorax) and Isaiah Stewart (left calf strain).
Duren dominant after a night off
Duren, a first-time All Star this season, had scored at least 20 points in eight straight games before a relatively quieter performance against the Timberwolves on Saturday, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds in a tough matchup against Rudy Gobert. After a night off Monday in Oklahoma City, Duren was back to his dominant self on Tuesday.
The Raptors couldn’t contain him from the jump. He led all scorers with 11 points after the opening quarter on 5-for-5 shooting, had 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting by halftime and 27 points on 10-for-11 shooting at the end of the third. When he’s established in the paint, defenses have few options to stop him. He’s stronger than many opposing centers and, with his quickness and improved footwork, can usually get to his preferred angle.
In a 20-game stretch since NBA All-Star Weekend, Duren entered Tuesday’s game averaging 23 points and 11.1 rebounds on 66.3% shooting. In that span, he scored at least 15 points 17 times and at least 20 points 15 times. With Cunningham sidelined, Duren has performed like a true No. 1 option and is a primary reason the team has gone 6-2 during this stretch without their superstar.
Pistons stay hot from 3
Outside shooting has been inconsistent for the Pistons this season, but they’re in the midst of a hot streak. The Pistons shot 10-for-16 from 3 through the first three periods and finished the night above 50% from the arc for the second time in four games, after shooting 15-for-28 in last week’s blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
In the interim, they shot 10-for-26 (38.5%) against the Timberwolves on Saturday and 16-for-43 (37.2%) against the Thunder. Robinson, who made five of his eight attempts on Tuesday, entered the game shooting 43.9% from deep in the month of January.
Watch our podcast, “The Pistons Pulse,” discuss the Cade Cunningham injury fallout, the playoff chase and more:
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons top Raptors to clinch 1st Central Division title since 2008
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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