Duren’s first 20-20 game leads Pistons upset of Thunder

Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren is hugged by guard Monte Morris after the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT — Jalen Duren had 22 points and a career-high 21 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons ended the Oklahoma City Thunder’s five-game winning streak with a 120-104 victory on Sunday within the NBA.

“I just think our guys care,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said of Detroit’s best win of the season. “We had every reason to make excuses — a back-to-back against the most effective team within the West — and our guys just competed.”

Duren’s performance included a career-high nine of Detroit’s 15 offensive rebounds. It was the Pistons’ first 20-20 game since Andre Drummond on Jan. 31, 2020.

“I also had six assists,” Duren identified to the media. “I knew 20 and 20 was certain to occur for me in some unspecified time in the future. The sport is slowing down for me tremendously.”

Jaden Ivey added 19 points for the Pistons, who played without leading scorer Cade Cunningham, who was a late scratch for what the team termed “injury management.” Cunningham returned from a knee injury on Saturday.

“We felt like, on a back-to-back, if there was any level of concern, we didn’t feel good putting him on the market,” Williams said.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points and Jalen Williams added 20.

Detroit led 81-67 early within the third quarter, but Gilgeous-Alexander scored the following seven points. The Thunder got as close as 90-86 before Ivey hit back-to-back jumpers to begin a 10-0 run.

“I assumed it was an energy thing in each directions,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They played with great energy — beat us to balls, played with intensity — and because the game wore on, we couldn’t drum up that very same energy. They obviously deserved to win today.”

The Pistons led 100-87 going into the fourth and kept hitting 3-pointers at key moments down the stretch. The 16-point win matches their biggest margin of a 6-40 season.

“That’s an amazing playoff team, but we showed lots of resiliency all game,” Ivey said. “That’s what we want to bring every night.”

Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort didn’t play within the fourth quarter, while Chet Holmgren played only 2:08.

“There’s all the time a balance,” Daigneault said. “If I assumed we had a probability to get back into the sport, I might have obviously put them in, but with the best way the sport was going, I just didn’t feel it. With the schedule we’ve got had and the schedule we’ve got coming out of here, I assumed it was the smart move.”

The Thunder shot 56.5% from the ground in the primary half but still trailed 70-61 at intermission. The Pistons had a 9-2 edge in offensive rebounds and committed just one turnover.

NEXT SCHEDULE

Thunder: Host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Pistons: On the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.