With the Pistons having six players out with injuries, they turned to a surprising guard for big minutes and got exactly what they needed from Daniss Jenkins. Playing a career-high 34 minutes, Jenkins scored a career-high 24 points and saved the Pistons' win streak. The win over the Wizards wouldn't have been possible without Jenkins and he might have earned himself more minutes in the future.
Daniss Jenkins was the hero of the night
The Pistons also got a huge performance from Cade Cunningham, who had a career-high of his own with 46 points. But none of Cade's points were as big as Jenkins' clutch shot to send the game to overtime. With the Pistons down 3 and just 1.9 seconds left, Cade inbounded to Jenkins on a broken play. Two Pistons fell down trying to screen for each other, but Jenkins got himself open in the corner and threw up a wild shot that fell right in.
Jenkins was one of the only other sources of offense besides Cade the whole night, but he came up especially huge in the fourth. He had 16 of his 24 in the final period of regulation on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from three. His heroics were much-needed considering the absences of so many other scoring options for the Pistons.
The Pistons have struggled to survive offensively without Cade on the floor all season. Even as they continue to rack up wins, the grim reality of their injury status and lack of creation has crept up whenever Cade takes a breather. Jenkins should be applauded for his effort to fill the void and may be called upon to do the same in other games too.
His shooting was obviously incredible and timely, but that's not the only way he made his impact felt. Jenkins also had 4 steals to provide some defensive value despite his small stature. With the Pistons struggling to get any easy points, these steals were crucial in creating fastbreak opportunities.
Additionally, Jenkins somehow found his way into 8 rebounds, including 4 on the offensive glass. His physical competitiveness to grab these boards despite standing just 6'4" and 165lbs perfectly encapsulates the next-man-up mentality of the Pistons. The whole team prides itself on toughness and Jenkins shows that it carries all the way to the end of the bench.
Daniss Jenkins wouldn't have been anyone's pregame pick for the hero of the night, but he came up huge against the Wizards. His shooting may have been an incredibly lucky hot streak, but Jenkins showed enough to earn JB Bickerstaff's trust for more minutes. If the Pistons find themselves with a crippling lack of point guards again, expect to see Jenkins come off the bench early.