The Detroit Pistons’ 8-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.
Sometimes you have to just tip your hat to the other team and tonight was one of those nights, as the Nuggets were red hot and determined not to lose two in a row.
Jamal Murray was hitting everything, Nikola Jokic had a monster triple-double and Denver made 57 percent of their three-point shots.
The Pistons were able to claw back from an 18-point deficit in the first half but the Nuggets just built another one and Detroit finally ran out of gas.
It happens, and if you had told me that the Pistons would get a split of the games against the Celtics and Nuggets, I would have taken it.
The hallmark of this streak has been effective aggression by the Pistons, but that didn’t work in their favor against the Nuggets.
Detroit Pistons: Ineffective aggression
The 8-game win streak was fueled by defense, as the Pistons were able to play physically, get steals and get out and run.
They were effectively aggressive without fouling, which was not the case tonight, as Jalen Duren, Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart all got into foul trouble early, which limited their minutes and really took them out of the flow of the game.
Beef Stew had five fouls and a technical, Jalen Duren finished with four fouls and a T of his own and Cade was whistled for two early ones that forced him to the bench.
The Pistons were able to generate 19 turnovers and got plenty of steals, including five more from Ausar Thompson, and they did get out and run with 22 fast break points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the discrepancy at the 3-point line or the free-throw line, which were the differences in the game.
The Nuggets shot 31 free throws to the Pistons’ 22 and made 17 from behind the arc, while Detroit only made 12.
Detroit was taken out of the game in the first half with early fouls and were never able to get into an offensive rhythm of their own while Denver stayed hot and weathered the Pistons’ runs.
The Pistons ran into a very good team and didn’t have the shot-making to balance all of Denver’s free-throws and 3-pointers.
You could kind of feel this one coming in the build up to this game, as the Pistons were getting a lot of love and might have needed a small reality check. But it's only one game. Learn and move on.
The good news is that the Pistons will get a chance to start a new streak right away against the Nets, so they can’t let this one linger.
The effort was there, but it wasn’t always effective, so the Pistons will just have to regroup and get back after it against Brooklyn.