The Detroit Pistons shut out the Phoenix Suns on the road, 133-125

On December 22, 2024By Littum

PHOENIX — After suffering one of their worst losses of the season, the Detroit Pistons bounced back.

The Pistons (12-17) defeated the Phoenix Suns on the road, 133-125. Malik Beasley hit a big 3-pointer with 2:11 on the clock in the final period, giving the Pistons a 125-119 cushion after the Suns got within three points. Jaden Ivey’s free throw with 1:16 left then extended their lead to eight, knotting the game.

The final dagger belonged to Cade Cunningham, who knocked down a pull-up 3 to give the Pistons a seven-point lead with 33 seconds left.

It was a defensively sloppy night for both teams, with the Phoenix shooting 57.5% overall and 48.3% (14-for-29) from 3 and the Pistons shooting 55.1% overall and 48.7% ( 19-to-39) from 3.

“Our guys handled it well,” head coach JB Bickerstaff said. “When you have guys like KD (Kevin Durant) and Brad Beal out there, the veteran players they have, the role players, the shot makers, they’re going to create something. They’re going to run. That, I thought we did a really good job work with in the fourth quarter is that we continued to do things to score the basketball. We didn’t stand still, we didn’t turn the ball over didn’t get a look at the rim. It was a big learning lesson for us how we can play when teams run, how we counter their execution I thought we did a good job.

Cunningham led the Pistons with 28 points and 13 assists. Ivey returned from a two-game absence with left knee inflammation and had 20 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. However, they had no answer for Durant, who scored 43 points. Bradley Beal added 26 points. The Suns were without Grand Rapids native Devin Booker because of groin soreness.

The Pistons dominated the first quarter, building an early 41-26 lead. They knocked down 63% of their field goals and had 11 assists and three turnovers — a complete turnaround from their awful start against the Utah Jazz on Thursday, when they trailed by 29 after the opening period before losing, 126-119.

Aided by the Suns’ discombobulation, they scored 22 points off 11 Suns turnovers in the first half. For the game, the Pistons finished with 33 points off 19 Suns turnovers. However, Phoenix closed the half with momentum, using a 12-0 run to cut a 15-point lead to three with less than a minute left in the half.

The Suns cut the lead to five points again, 115-110, with just over four minutes left in total, on a driving layup by Durant. Beal missed a short jumper by approx. 2:30 left to play, which would have cut it to three, but they kept possession and Durant fouled Cunningham, knocking down both to cut the Pistons’ lead to 122-119 before Beasley’s. 3.

Ivey aggressive in return

After ripping an offensive rebound away from Mason Plumlee’s outstretched arms, Ivey took the ball behind the arc before turning on a dime to slide past Plumlee for a layup late in the first. After missing two games, Ivey looked energized in his return. He led the Pistons with 10 points, four assists and four rebounds in the first quarter, including three offensive boards.

“I thought he was great,” Cunningham said. “I literally just told him. We missed that spark that he has. He started with a couple of offensive rebounds that got us going, made a ton of good reads. He was everywhere.”

The Suns cut the Pistons’ lead to five at halftime after leading by 15. Ivey helped the Pistons stay in control, opening the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers before adding a short jumper late in the third that extended lead back to 11.

It was a bounce-back game for the third-year guard, who shot just 32.3% overall in five games before missing the Pistons’ previous two. He gave them the extra offensive punch they missed in their loss to the Jazz, knocking down timely 3s and matching his season high with eight assists.

Difficult to find the rhythm again

He was the Pistons’ most efficient shooter through the first few weeks of the season. But after missing three games with a head injury, Tim Hardaway Jr. hasn’t been himself since.

Through the first 12 games of the season, he shot 45.7% from 3. That dropped to 27.7% in his 13 games after returning from the injury report. Through his extended slump, Bickerstaff stuck with him in the starting lineup.

Hardaway thrived in Monday’s win over the Miami Heat, knocking down two 3-pointers in the first period and three straight in the final moments of overtime to give the Pistons a home win. He shot just 2-for-9 from 3 against Utah, but Saturday was his second time knocking down at least four 3-pointers in three games — and the second time since going 4-for-8 in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on 4 Nov

He got going right away against the Suns, knocking down all three of his attempts in the first period.

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Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.