Pistons' most impressive win of the season triples last year's total

By / / Sports / 6 minutes of reading


DETROIT — Once Tim Hardaway Jr. made it into the Detroit Pistons’ locker room Friday, he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

The veteran had two words: “Hell yeah!”

Hardaway was fresh off a season-high 32 points, his best game as a Piston, and led them to a 133-122 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers — the Eastern Conference’s best team (59-15). He earned Detroit’s “BTA” honors and hoisted the belt in the air as his teammates crowded around to celebrate him. Rightfully so, as his squad sits fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 42-32 record.

Although Cade Cunningham missed his third consecutive game due to a left calf contusion, he was on his feet for majority of the night to cheer on Hardaway and the rest of the team.

Cunningham even made a guest appearance during Hardaway’s postgame news conference. The franchise cornerstone cracked the media room door ajar and didn’t even try to contain his smile that rivaled a proud parent — despite Hardaway being 10 years older than his counterpart.

“That’s a good answer, boy” Cunningham said as Hardaway was in the middle of a response. “Way to hoop.”

All things considered, Friday was the Pistons’ most impressive win of the season. In addition to Cunningham, Tobias Harris was a late scratch due to right Achilles tendinopathy. Cunningham and Harris have combined for 135 starts this season. But Detroit didn’t seem to miss a beat without either.

The Pistons limited the Cavaliers to 46.4 percent shooting from the field, 37.5 percent from 3 and forced them into 14 turnovers that were converted into 17 Detroit points.

Hardaway’s 32 points were the most he’s scored since Jan. 29, 2024. His seven made 3s tied his season high and he finished with 55.6/63.6/100 shooting splits. Seven Pistons scored in double figures, and Ausar Thompson, Dennis Schröder and Jalen Duren notched double-doubles.

Wins like these breed confidence among players such as Hardaway, who could be vital to Detroit’s playoff success. These are also the types of wins that could bolster J.B. Bickerstaff’s case for coach of the year. Bickerstaff, in his first season at the helm with the Pistons, tripled Detroit’s win total of 14 from last season to 42 with eight games remaining.

The Pistons are the first team in NBA history to triple its win total in 82-game seasons. The Charlotte Hornets, then the Bobcats, went 7-59 in 2011-12, when the season was shortened to 66 games due to the lockout, and went 21-61 the following year.

“The way we play is his style, brand of basketball and his attitude,” Hardaway said of Bickerstaff after the win. “He’s done an amazing job of giving guys that confidence, giving guys that ability to go out there and compete on both ends of the floor. No matter if you make a mistake here or there or multiple mistakes in a row, as long as you’re competing and moving on to the next play, that’s all he cares about.

“And when you have a coach like that, and a coach that obviously also communicates to each one of his players like he does — goes up to each one of them before practice, after practice just to ask how your day is going — that goes a long way. We want to go to battle for him. We want to go to war for him, and I feel like that’s what makes him the coach of the year.”

Detroit’s fight to win was obvious, as it helped Bickerstaff notch his first win this season against his former team. Friday’s win also broke a streak of 12 consecutive Pistons losses to Cleveland, dating back to March 19, 2022.

Schröder, Detroit’s trade-deadline pickup, was the primary orchestrator of the Pistons’ performance and had his most complete game since being in Detroit. He dished out a game-high 10 assists, five going to Hardaway, to go along with 17 points and seven boards. Schröder was a game-high plus-16, as well.

Numbers aside, Schröder found ways to settle the Pistons in offensively each time the Cavaliers made a late push. Although Schröder has been in Detroit just under two months, he’s quickly identified what makes this group so capable of coming together to win games with starters sidelined.

“Team chemistry,” Schröder said of the Pistons’ ability to handle adversity. “We like each other on and off the court. We’re fighting, we’re giving everything we have for another. And coach is doing a great job, he’s coach of the year. So, great game plan.”

Bickerstaff’s game plan heavily featured Thompson. The second-year wing’s 18 shot attempts tied Hardaway for a team high and were also a career high. Thompson logged 18 points, 10 rebounds, a game-high four blocks, two steals and two assists. Per usual, Thompson was able to affect the game in a multitude of ways.

Listed at 6 foot 6 with a 7-foot wingspan, the 22-year-old has flashed potential of becoming Detroit’s most dynamic player. Thompson is averaging 16 points on 50 percent shooting, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks during his last two games. The goal for Thompson is sustaining this level of play as the playoffs near.

“I feel like I’ve had multiple moments this season doing that,” Thompson said from his locker. “Just to consistently do it and not take a game off from doing it, I feel like that’s the key for me. To just be aggressive at all times.”

Thompson’s aggressive nature will be necessary as the Pistons embark on a three-game road trip with Cunningham being listed Friday as day to day. Detroit takes on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday and Toronto Raptors on Friday.

The Pistons are 1 1/2 games back from the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers (43-30) and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks (40-33), who are sixth in the Eastern Conference. If the playoffs began Saturday, Detroit would be matched up against its old rival in the Pacers. But so much can change over the Pistons’ final eight games that it’s hard to feed into early, hypothetical postseason matchups.

Bickerstaff and his unit are more focused on continuing to build winning habits as a team.

“I enjoy it. I enjoy this group of guys,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s why we do what we do as coaches. You hope to find a group of guys that understand what team is. Guys that are willing to sacrifice of themselves to be a part of the team. And from the beginning of our time here until now, that’s all these guys have done.

“They’ve given me an opportunity to coach them, they’ve tried to execute all of the things we’ve asked them to do without any pushback, without any fight. So my job revolves around them. And the fun that I get is because of them — watching them get better, watching them compete. To me, it’s all about these guys. And that’s where I find my joy.”

(Photo of Tim Hardaway Jr.: Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images)





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