Detroit trailed at halftime and still had not separated themselves heading into the fourth quarter, down 80-79 after three. What followed over the final 12 minutes was the kind of basketball that wins close games. The Pistons outscored Minnesota 34-28 in the fourth, shot 47.7% from the field for the night, and converted 21 of 29 free throws to pull away with a 113-108 win over the Timberwolves on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.
It was not always clean. Detroit committed 15 turnovers on the night and gave up 20 fast-break points to a Minnesota team that wanted to run. But the Pistons had answers where it counted, particularly on the boards and at the rim.
Jenkins leads, Duren dominates
Daniss Jenkins put together the most complete performance of the night. The guard finished with 26 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, shot 9 of 19 from the field and made his free throws when Detroit needed them most. He also went a perfect 2 of 2 from three.
Jalen Duren was a different kind of problem. The center racked up 22 points and 14 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive glass that directly translated into second-chance scoring. He drew contact consistently, taking 10 free throw attempts, and controlled the paint throughout. It was the kind of interior performance that made Minnesota’s defensive adjustments look inadequate.
Duncan Robinson chipped in 15 points off the bench on 5 of 11 shooting with 3 threes, while Kevin Huerter added 12 on 4 of 6 with two made threes. Ausar Thompson did not score much, finishing with 7 points, but his stat line told a fuller story. Nine rebounds, 9 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals. He was everywhere.
Minnesota had its moments
Julius Randle gave Detroit problems all night. The Timberwolves forward ended with 27 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 60% from the field. He got to his spots, drew fouls and made the difficult look routine. Minnesota needed more of the same from everyone else, and they did not get it.
Naz Reid contributed 19 points with 4 made threes, and Mike Conley added 14 points while shooting 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. Terrence Shannon Jr. brought energy off the bench, producing 10 points with 8 of his points coming on the fast break. The Timberwolves were without Jaden McDaniels and did not have Anthony Edwards available, which squeezed their margin for error considerably.
Minnesota finished with 13 made threes to Detroit’s 10, but at a lower clip, 31% compared to the Pistons’ 43.5%. More damaging in the final minutes was how the turnovers stacked up. The Timberwolves coughed it up 14 times, and Detroit converted those miscues into 18 points off turnovers.
The numbers that decided it
Detroit won the rebounding battle 48-40 and held a significant advantage in points in the paint, 54 to 46. The Pistons also finished with a 29-22 edge in assists and spent nearly 30 minutes holding the lead. Their biggest advantage of the night reached 11 points.
Minnesota outran Detroit on the fast break, 20 points to 11, but it was not enough to offset the damage done on the glass and inside. Detroit’s fourth-quarter execution, particularly at the free-throw line, was what ultimately closed the door.
What comes next for the Pistons
Detroit will face the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, tipping off at 7 p.m. EDT. The game will be available on NBA TV and the FanDuel Sports Network. It is the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the two teams, with the Pistons having won the previous three matchups, including a 131-109 victory at Little Caesars Arena on March 12.
Philadelphia currently sits 13.5 games behind Detroit in the standings and is pushing for a Play-In spot alongside the Toronto Raptors. For the Pistons, another win over the 76ers would cap a clean sweep of the season series and carry momentum into the final stretch of the regular season.
