The biggest difference between the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons on Tuesday was that the Pistons had Cade Cunningham on their side.
After the first-time All-Star had 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in Detroit’s 123-103 victory over Washington, the Pistons will once again play host to their Eastern Conference foe on Thursday.
Detroit built a 17-point halftime lead on Tuesday, and Washington was no match for a team that sits in sixth place of the Eastern Conference.
“They have one guy who controls the flow of their game,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said of Cunningham. “I thought we did a decent job, especially in the second half. We just have to clean up those boards. We have to finish possessions.”
Cunningham has been in charge of the flow on a regular basis. He has scored at least 27 points in five straight games, the longest streak of his career. He is averaging 30.4 points, 7.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds with 1.6 steals while shooting 53.8 percent from the field during the stretch.
Not only will the Wizards have to contain Cunningham, they’ll need to be tougher in the paint to avenge Tuesday’s loss. The Pistons controlled the boards with a season-high 61 rebounds, 14 more than Washington.
The Pistons also had a 58-44 advantage on points in the paint. Detroit has not been outscored in the paint in 22 straight games and have averaged a plus-14.8 margin in the paint during that span.
“We just play with a physical force, and that’s our intent,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Our intent is to be as physical on the offensive end of the floor as we are on the defensive end of the floor.
“We want to put a ton of foul pressure on people. We want to put guys under duress, make people have to help and collapse in the paint. If they don’t help and collapse, we have guys that are capable of making shots.”
Detroit has won 12 of its last 15 games and finds itself percentage points behind the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference.
“We’re preparing for bigger and better things, still trying to make a playoff push,” Detroit center Jalen Duren said. “We’ve got a lot of good games ahead of us, so this is the time to really lock in. Obviously, we’ve got guys who haven’t been there, and guys who have been there. So, it’s a lot of teaching going on at this point in the season, a lot of taking care of our bodies. I think we’re gearing up to kind of get ready to make a run.”
The Wizards have won just 13 games and are in the middle of a seven-game road swing. Keefe knows they can’t spot the Pistons an early double-digit lead again.
“There were some runs back-and-forth that they got off on, but we were resilient,” he said. “We fought back in the fourth, which I liked, but that first quarter really hurt us there.”
Tuesday’s matchup between the teams was extremely contentious. They combined for five technical fouls, and Washington reserve Richaun Holmes was ejected in the fourth quarter for elbowing Ausar Thompson.
–Field Level Media
