Close games are inevitable for the Detroit Pistons to start this season, and Friday night’s Emirates NBA Cup matchup in Toronto was no different.
With 5 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game, Pistons guard Marcus Sasser sized up defender Jamison Battle at the top of the key on the Raptors’ purple court before firing a pass to Cade Cunningham on the perimeter. Cunningham, the Pistons’ ace, knocked down a catch-and-shoot 3 to give his team an eight-point lead.
Cunningham threw up three fingers, looked toward his bench and chest bumped Sasser. Jalen Duren gave his best Tiger Woods fist bump impersonation in a relieved fashion. But it was particularly fitting Sasser and Cunningham embraced the way they did. The two were responsible for the Pistons’ final four field goals, scoring two apiece and assisting each other on one of their two makes in Detroit’s 99-95 win.
The Pistons connected on 10 of 21 shots in the fourth quarter, but offense wasn’t the focal point for them down the stretch. Detroit had a defensive rating of 70.8 in the fourth quarter. The Pistons limited the Raptors to 7-of-25 shooting from the field and 1 of 9 from 3-point range for a total of 17 points in the final 12 minutes.
“We defended,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said in the postgame news conference. “In the fourth quarter, we gave up 17 points. If you can go out and get stops and go put that pressure on the defense after you get stops, that’s where we want to hold our hat.
“That’s what our identity is. We want to be able to get stops on demand, and I think we did that in the fourth quarter.”
The only other time Detroit held an opponent under 20 points during the fourth quarter this season was when it defeated the Brooklyn Nets earlier this month.
Sasser and guard Wendell Moore Jr. had the highest plus-minus in the fourth; Moore with a plus-10 and Sasser with a plus-7. Sasser and Moore finished with six and eight points, respectively. I’m sure every Pistons fan had the two playing this well during the final frame in this game’s bingo card.
But Moore is only 23 and beginning his third season and Sasser is 24 in his second, and both players were double-figure scorers in college.
“Wendell and (Sasser), they were huge for us,” Cunningham said. “They came in, brought so much energy, made shots, were flying around, defended. That group just got us back in the game and then from there we just rode it out.”
Moore and Sasser showed flashes of what makes them valuable role players for Detroit.
Sasser timed perfectly a steal on Jakob Pöltl for a transition layup that highlighted his defensive instincts and ability to thrive in transition with his speed and finishing. Each of Moore’s baskets came in the paint, where he possessed a knack for finishing tough shots.
This was just Moore’s fifth game played this season and just his second earning over six minutes of action. For Sasser, this was his sixth game played this season and just his third with more than three minutes.
Cade Cunningham and Marcus Sasser celebrate late in Detroit’s win over Toronto. (Andrew Lahodynskyj / Getty Images)
“Just their professionalism and the way that they work,” Cunningham said of Sasser and Moore when discussing what makes them capable of performances like this. “The fact that they were as ready as they were, that’s no accident. They work their tails off day in and day out and today they were ready for the moment. They brought a huge spark for us.
“They’ve been doing that all year. In practice, in the game, they’ve been cheering everybody on. And now they got their shot and they performed.”
Though Cunningham had a rough shooting night, going 6-of-21 shooting for 15 points, five of his 15 came in the game’s final minutes and he had a game-high 10 assists.
Malik Beasley added a team-high 20 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and has now scored at least 20 in four of his last five outings. He had nine games scoring at least 20 points in 79 regular-season games with the Milwaukee Bucks last season. Beasley entered Friday’s game averaging 37.8 percent from long range on 8.5 attempts per game.
Turnovers and allowing offensive rebounds have been two major issues for the Pistons in fourth quarters, but they valued the basketball against Toronto when it mattered most.
Detroit’s only two turnovers came when Duren was called for a moving screen and Davion Mitchell stripped Sasser for a fast break layup. And although Pöltl hauled in four offensive rebounds, more than the Pistons as a team during the fourth quarter, Detroit outrebounded the Raptors 14-12 in the final quarter.
The Pistons are 6-8 overall and 2-0 in the NBA Cup and are first in East Group B with a plus-four point differential. Detroit’s sixth win didn’t come until Jan. 28 of last season. So the growth of this group is apparent. A new coaching staff and changes in the front office are surely contributing to these new-look Pistons.
They’ll close out this brief two-game road trip with the first night of a back-to-back against the Washington Wizards on Sunday before returning home to host the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
(Top photo of Cunningham: Andrew Lahodynskyj / Getty Images)
