The Detroit Pistons snapped their 11-game losing streak with a win over the Pacers last night to even the season series at two games apiece.
It was a meaningless game for the standings, but the Pistons were able to avoid tying the worst record in franchise history with the win.
Jaden Ivey came out firing in his homecoming and combined with Killian Hayes for 57 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds. Both players were aggressive early on and really took over the game midway through the first quarter.
Ivey dropped 29 points overall, while fellow rookie Bennedict Mathurin finished the game with 16. The two rookies will be considered for the All-Rookie 1st team and one of them could get left out depending on how voters see things.
Ivey was looking for his shot early and often, and got out in transition for a couple of highlight-reel dunks, including this windmill, much to the delight of his mother Niele Ivey, who was in the crowd:
🚨JADEN IVEY WINDMILL🚨@IveyJaden | #Pistons pic.twitter.com/758qM569C8
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 8, 2023
Ivey is now averaging 16.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds to Mathurin’s 16.6 points , 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Ivey has been the better 3-point shooter on more attempts and is clearly having a bigger overall effect on the game, especially offensively.
Both players could end up on the 1st team, but if one of them has to go, it should be Mathurin in my totally biased opinion.
Detroit Pistons: Jalen Duren’s double doubles
Jalen Duren finished the game with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks as he tried to make a final case for his inclusion on the All-Rookie team.
That gave Duren 19 double-doubles for the season, which is second behind Walker Kessler, who has 20, and is likely to be on the All-Rookie first team.
With one more game he could still tie Kessler for the most double-doubles on the season, which would strengthen his case for the All-Rookie team.
But Duren will come up short of the Detroit Pistons’ all-time rookie record, which is held by Greg Monroe with 21 double-doubles.
The Pistons will finish the 2022-23 season tomorrow on the road against the Chicago Bulls, who have already clinched a spot in the play-in tournament. There won’t be anything at stake for Detroit, as they have already clinched the league’s worst record, but it would be nice to go out on a high note as they head into the offseason.