DETROIT, MI – The Detroit Pistons won their first game of the Emirates NBA Cup in-season tournament game 123-121 versus the Miami Heat. Wild is an understatement when describing the closing moments of the game which left Jalen Rose in shock.
Rose, who champions all things University of Michigan, the city of Detroit and the Fab-5, was court side for the match. And tonight would provide a blast from the past when Miami Heat coach was whistled for a technical foul after calling timeout. The problem? The Heat were all out of timeouts resulting in a the Pistons receiving free throws and the game’s final possession.
The Pistons crowd, and even media didn’t know exactly what happened in the moment. But Rose, who’s reaction has gone viral, was in shock and disbelief at the play which reminded him of Chris Webber’s infamous timeout.
But on this night, it resulted in a win for the team that Rose was rooting for.
With 1.1 seconds left in overtime head coach JB Bickerstaff drew up the perfect play to tie the game. The Little Caesars Arena crowd reached deafening levels as this was the Pistons last chance to keep the game going.
Star Cade Cunningham took the ball out and delivered the perfect pass to Jalen Duren, who dunked home the equalizer.
Pistons Survive
And what happened next was pure pandemonium. It’s best described by the blank stare of Jalen Rose as the Pistons were able to end the game on Malik Beasley free throws. Which is no small feat after the Pistons dropped a game versus the Rockets due to missed free throws.
”It was a great play that coach drew up for JD,” Tobias Harris said. “Malik hit a big three and then we sealed it with a free throw.”
Coming into the game Pistons were positioned 10th place in the East, which would be good enough to make the play-in tournament. After a win tonight they pushed their record to 5-7 and now sit 7th in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
Cunningham led the Pistons with 21 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds as he seemingly flirts with a triple double every game. Veterans Tobias Harris (18 points, 7 rebounds) and Malik Beasley (21 points, 5 rebounds) combined to shoot 7-15 from behind the arc.
Jaden Ivey also stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, as he continues to have a breakout season under coach Bickerstaff.
The Miami Heat were led by a big night from Tyler Herro who scored 40 points, knocking down 10-17 from three point range. He single-handedly shot the Heat back into the game, including two big threes downs the stretch, before missing the potential game winner in regulation.
Learning To Win
But a reoccurring theme made an appearance to ruin a near perfect start to the game and steal away a sure victory. If not for end game letdowns, many fans and observers believe the Pistons would have an above .500 record. And so does veteran Tobias Harris who was proud of how the young players responded to adversity.
“Overall this group has done a good job from game 1 until now,” Harris stated. “And you can look at the record and see there’s a few games we should’ve been on the other side of.”
So it’s a learning process but we’re doing a good job of getting it together, and the young guys are continuing to blossom.”
Harris said he and the vets consistently kept the younger players engaged and encouraged. Even during an amazing stretch of basketball from Tyler Herro to lead the Miami Heat charge in the 4th quarter.
But no one was more happy for the retooled Pistons than head coach JB Bickerstaff. From game one it’s been apparent this team would be different, in a positive way, under the new coach. And fans have taken notice to many improvements from the defense to how much more this team appears to hustle.
“This is who they are and we love every minute of it,” Bickerstaff exclaimed. “Multiple times tonight they could’ve given up, but kept competing and were able to get it done.”
Things to Clean Up
Despite the excitement of the win, the Pistons were still seeking ways to improve and get better. The mixture of a new coach, young players and major additions to the rotation could fall flat. It’s similar to what observers experienced the last few years, but Bickerstaff and the Pistons believe they’re ready to move beyond coming up with reasons for not winning. Instead the focus is on learning from, and cleaning up mistakes which have cost them wins, a demise they narrowly escaped on this night.
”As a a group we deserved to get that win. We almost let it go in the fourth quarter,” Harris said. “We do have to clean those up, but we will take any win in this league.”
Based on the early results, the team is very receptive to the learning process but will need to consistently dig deep for late game moments. Late game turnovers are still a problem that despite winning, is not a sustainable recipe for success.
”They’re learning what it takes to win those meaningful games,” Bickerstaff said. “And to get stops at the end of games.”
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