The biggest difference between 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 returns in Detroit’s victory 123-103 over Washington, Pistons will once again host their Eastern Conference enemy on Thursday.
Detroit built a 17-point half-time lead on Tuesday, and Washington was not a match for a team that is in sixth place at the Eastern Conference.
“They have a guy who controls the flow in his game,” said Wizards coach Brian Keefe about Cunningham. “I thought we did a decent job, especially during the second half. We just have to clean up these boards. We have to end possessions.”
Cunningham has been responsible for the flow regularly. He has received at least 27 points in five straight matches, the longest line of his career. He is an average of 30.4 points, 7.8 assists and 4.8 returns with 1.6 steals while he shoots 53.8 percent from the field during the route.
The guides will not only have to contain Cunningham, they will have to be tougher in color to take revenge on Tuesday’s loss. The pistons controlled the boards with a season high 61 returns, 14 more than Washington.
The pistons also had a 58-44 advantage at points in color. Detroit has not been outscored in the color in 22 straight matches and on average has on average a plus-14.8 margin in color during that span.
“We only play with a physical force, and that is our intention,” said the Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff. “Our intention is to be as physical at the offensive end of the floor as we are on the defensive end of the floor.
“We want to put lots of foul pressure on people. We want to put guys under hardness, get people to have to help and collapse in color. If they don’t help and collapse, we have guys who can make a shot.”
Detroit has won 12 of its last 15 matches and is in percentage points behind Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers for the fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
“We are preparing for bigger and better things and are still trying to make a playoffs,” said the Detroit Center Jalen Duren. “We have many good games ahead of us, so it’s time to really lock in. Of course we have guys who have not been there, and guys who have been there. So there is a lot of teaching going on at this time during the season, a lot to take care of our bodies. I think we are doing it to do it to do a drive.”
The sorcerers have won only 13 matches and are in the middle of a seven-game road swing. Keefe knows that they cannot detect the pistons an early two -digit lead again.
“There were some runs back and forth as they went off, but we were resilient,” he said. “We fought back in the fourth, which I liked, but the first quarter really hurt us there.”
Tuesday’s matchup between the teams was extremely controversial. They combined for five technical fouls, and the Washington Reserve Richaun Holmes was thrown out during the fourth quarter to elbow Ausar Thompson.
-Field level media
