DETROIT, MI – DETROIT PISTONS! FINALLY! Finally the end of regulation luck went the way of the home team, and the Little Caesars crowd went wild!

The Detroit Pistons closed out the Toronto Raptors 102-100 thanks to a Jaden Ivey game winning buzzer beater.

“Coach drew up the play and told me I was getting the ball,” Ivey said. “And I was just talking to Jesus and said—Lord do something special!”

Ivey has looked like a completely different player under new coach JB Bickerstaff who has full trust in the resurgent guard.

“Ball in his hands in space, there’s not too many guys who can stay in front of him in this league,” Bickerstaff lauded. “But it wasn’t just that last shot. He was phenomenal starting the game, and did an unbelievable job playing the floor tonight.

And Bickerstaff’s accolades for Ivey didn’t stop there, he went even further complimenting his ability to play point guard filling in for injured star Cade Cunningham.

“From a point guard perspective that was a huge step for Jaden tonight.”

Ivey did his best to make up for the loss of Cunningham finishing with team high’s scoring 25 points and dishing out 8 assists.

This was the second game in a row without star Cade Cunningham. He is still dealing with a hip injury sustained versus the Charlotte Hornets, although he did participate in pregame warmups. But the Pistons got off to a surprising start and closed the first quarter with a 29-22 lead. After that the absence of Cade Cunningham was more apparent as the offense became stagnant once the Raptors took their defense up a notch.

Jalen Duren Protects the Paint

But the Pistons defense kept the Raptors from running to far ahead lead by the much discussed Jalen Duren.

On the night his NBA draft mate, Ivey, would show up big, Jalen Duren would also step up to help secure a Pistons victory. He finished the game with a 13 point, 12 rebound double-double and also collected 4 assists and 4 blocks.

Fans have criticized the centers defense to start the season desiring to see more of a leap in his third year. Duren’s blocks (1.1) and steals (.3) numbers have largely been the same as last season but he showed positive signs against the Raptors.

Duren on this night ended the first half with 3 blocks and played paint defense resembling night and day progress. After the Raptors made several runs to cut into and eventually take the lead, Duren locked in defensively spurring a run to tie the game. He was able to alter multiple shot attempts playing weak side defense and still able to get back and defend his player as well.

“Our bigs are the anchor of our defense and we trust in them to protect,” Bickerstaff said. “I think he’s doing a great job learning to use his 2.9 to be a rim protector and challenge shots.”

The 2.9 was in reference to the amount of time a defender is able to occupy a position in the lane before a penalty is called. More importantly it should be encouraging to hear Bickerstaff speak to the defensive growth of Duren.

The Pistons would need all of Duren’s defensive contributions in this game as it went down to the last second. They were out-rebounded by the Raptors 50-38 with the main story being offensive rebounds. The visitors from Toronto secured 23 offensive rebounds and scored 25 second chance points.

That’s something the Pistons know they must clean up to have more sustainable brand of winning.

After the game the team also admitted to not playing at the level they desire, despite the win. JB Bickerstaff isn’t allowing them to get comfortable despite being in playoff positioning through almost 25% of the season complete.

Did anyone believe they would be one of the top 8 teams in the east to star the season?

GAME NOTES:

Ausar Thompson made his season debut since being cleared by the NBA several games ago
The Detroit Pistons are currently 8th in the Eastern conference and are only 1 game out of 6th place
Isaiah Stewart (3) and Jalen Duren (4) combined for 7 blocks versus the Toronto Raptors
The Pistons defense held the Raptors to 39.4% field goal percentage and 28.6% from three point range