The Detroit Pistons avoided losing their 12th straight last night by blowing out the Indiana Pacers in Little Caesar’s Arena.
It was one of the weirdest games of the season, as both teams had key players on the bench with injuries, which led to some unlikely starting lineups.
The Pistons ended two streaks, as they had lost seven straight on 313 night, celebrated on March 13th as an homage to Detroit’s area code. Prior to that, they had won 10 in a row on March 13th, so let’s hope this win starts another streak.
Detroit had three players with double-doubles and seven in double figures overall, as just about everyone got involved, including spot starter Eugene Omoruyi, who continued playing well and ended with 17 points, six assists and three steals.
Even with the win, the Detroit Pistons managed to hold onto the worst record in the league, as the Houston Rockets got an unlikely victory over the Boston Celtics to keep pace. So this was a great night for the tank, as many of the young guys played well, the Pistons won, but didn’t lose pace in the Victory Wembanyama lottery.
Detroit Pistons: Bench lights up the Pacers
For the second time in three games, the Pistons were led in scoring by Cory Joseph, who had a game-high 22 points off the bench.
CoJo hit 5-of-8 from long range and gave the Pistons a boost when Indiana starting mounting a comeback.
RJ Hampton also continued his strong play as he tries to make a case for the Pistons to pick up his team option for next season. He knocked down all three of his 3-point shots and ended the game with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
With Marvin Bagley III out with injury (shocker) Detroit went with just one center at a time, a novel idea against a team that didn’t have a single center in their rotation. Both guys played well, as James Wiseman ended with 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks and Jalen Duren came off the bench to add 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Let’s hope this success ends the 2-big experiment once and for all, as it has bombed so far, especially when MBIII is on the floor.
Detroit will travel to Washington tonight for the second game of a back-to-back, hoping to keep the momentum going with their rag-tag group of backups leading the way.