Cleveland — Turns out, the Pistons weren’t demoralized after all, not even close. Turns out they were revitalized, with a lot left to give, and a lot left to prove.
From possible expiration to a deep well of inspiration, the Pistons rose as forcefully as they fell just two nights earlier. They knew they needed more than just a reprisal of the Cade Cunningham show, so they brought everything, from every corner of their roster. This was power by numbers, as the Pistons attacked from all directions with practically every player on their bench. By the end of their 115-94 demolition of the Cavaliers Friday night, the “Dee-troit Basketball” chant from visiting fans was echoing in Rocket Arena, and surely will be heard again on Sunday.
The Pistons forced Game 7 in classic Pistons fashion, and they’ll need more of the same to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks. Once they got the defense rolling, the bodies banging and the energy ratcheting, the Cavs retreated from the fight. They had no escape, all avenues blocked.
Jalen Duren shook off his malaise and was an inside force again, with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Paul Reed did what he does when called upon, swarming the floor for 17 points, shooting 7-for-9. When the Pistons’ frontline is cranked up, and Cunningham can operate with all options at his disposal, well, this is what you get. According to OptaSTATS, it was the largest road victory margin to force a Game 7 in NBA history.
No, Cunningham didn’t get the night off, playing 42 minutes and scoring 21 points. But he got a chance to breathe between dribbles, and watch his teammates share everything — the scoring, the ball, the praise.
“It was amazing, and we needed every bit of it,” Cunningham said. “The beauty of this roster is, we have a lot of guys who play hard, and play to win.”
That was the plan, to bring waves of energy and not lean so heavily on Cunningham, and the Cavs couldn’t know it was coming. Donovan Mitchell was held to 18 points on 6-for-20 shooting, and James Harden scored 23. By early in the second quarter, J.B. Bickerstaff had just about emptied his bench, employing 10 players in double-big lineups, four-guard lineups, all-reserve lineups.
After winning three straight elimination games against Orlando, the Pistons just won a fourth straight to set up what should be a wild Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena (Amazon Prime, 8 p.m.).
“It’s gonna be a madhouse in there, the crowd’s gonna come to play as well,” Cunningham said with a smile. “They want to insert themselves in the game, so it’s gonna be a fun environment.”
The truth is, it’s hard to picture the top-seeded Pistons stumbling now against the Cavs, who aren’t as deep or deft defensively. But the reality is, the NBA playoffs are a herky-jerky ride, and the Cavs have their own Game 7 experience beating Toronto in the first round. The standard take-nothing-for-granted warnings apply, in what should be a tense, tactical clash.
This outcome felt more real than Game 5, when the Pistons were in command with three minutes left, stunningly blew a nine-point lead and lost in overtime. In this one, they smothered the Cavs, holding them to 29% shooting in the second half, turning a three-point game into a rout. Frame the final sequence of the third quarter: Reed blocks Evan Mobley’s dunk attempt, and as the seconds tick away, Marcus Sasser picks up the ball, races the length of the court and lays it in at the buzzer for an 87-74 lead.
“We did what needed to be done,” Bickerstaff said. “We’re at our best when it’s the defense that carries us. I was pleased we were allowed to play our style of basketball tonight, where we can be handsy and physical — legally handsy and legally physical. We just make it difficult on people up and down the roster.”
The Cavs were completely flummoxed, and who could blame them? Here came Sasser, who had played 38 total minutes in the playoffs, drilling back-to-back jumpers in the fourth quarter. He finished an absurd plus-27 in 18 minutes, in the middle of several Pistons’ blitzes.
Caris LeVert was valuable on offense and defense, part of the reason the Pistons had nine steals and forced 19 turnovers. Duncan Robinson returned after missing one game and drilled four of seven 3-pointers. Daniss Jenkins doesn’t even count as a surprise anymore, as the super-quick undrafted free-agent continues to be an absolute revelation, adding 15 more points.
The Pistons have depth of bodies and depth of spirit, which helps explain how they’ve gotten this far.
“Honestly, I think you just gotta look at the backgrounds of this group,” Jenkins said. “I wasn’t supposed to be in this spot, according to everybody in the league. We’re just special. Not taking anything from anyone. It’s us against the world, we just bond together.”
That bond might have helped revive Duren, whose struggles reached the point it seemed he could be benched for Reed. That didn’t make sense to Bickerstaff, who showed stout confidence in his 22-year-old center.
“My coaches kept giving me confidence, my teammates kept giving me confidence,” said Duren, 7-for-10 from the field. “I know who I am, I never forget who I am. I know what I can do, what I can be. … We keep fighting. When we go down, we don’t lay down. The world probably was doubting us, thinking it’s over. But this locker room always believes in our chances.”
That’s why, in retrospect, it was silly to believe the Pistons were cooked after dropping Game 5 in crushing fashion. They came out in this one like the more-desperate team, which technically, they were. Right from the start, they threw everything at the Cavs, as Bickerstaff hunted for matchups, looking for more offense.
All those bodies and all that energy produced an 18-2 run that flipped a 23-17 deficit into a 35-25 lead. The Pistons were the physical aggressors, including Duren, whose offensive output had shrunk in the playoffs. He immediately was impactful here, grabbing three rebounds in the first three minutes.
Duren had nine points and six rebounds in the first half, a pointed response to pointed questions. His struggles – from 19.5 ppg in the regular season to 10 ppg in the playoffs — had stirred calls for more “B-Ball Paul.” Sure enough, there was more Reed, but Bickerstaff wasn’t giving up on Duren, who set the tone early. And Ausar Thompson — the league’s quietest manic disrupter — kept resetting it.
Before he fouled out late in the game, Thompson had 10 points, nine rebounds, four steals and a permanent place in Harden’s and Mitchell’s nightmares. When Thompson was assessed a flagrant foul in the second quarter for running over Sam Merrill, the video was replayed on the arena scoreboard only about, oh, 50 times. From that point, Thompson was lustily booed every time he touched the ball, which he appreciated.
“I did enjoy that, first time it’s ever happened,” Thompson said with a grin. “That means I’m doing my job, and doing it well.”
Most of the Pistons perform variations of the same basic job — defend, rebound, pester. At this stage, the Pistons must stick to who they are and use everything they have. The gripes from both sides about the officiating merely underscored how contentious the series is. For the Pistons, motivation and agitation levels skyrocketed, and they rudely uncorked it all on a night the city of Cleveland was preparing to party.
Now it’s Detroit’s turn to prep for a party, although caution is advised. For the Pistons to peak, no peeking ahead allowed. They thoroughly, impressively handled business here, which earned them nothing but the right — and the obligation — to do it again.
Bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
@bobwojnowski
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wojo: Pistons hit back with full force, setting up epic Game 7
Reporting by Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
