Detroit won 124-91 at Spectrum Center on Monday night, and the game stopped being a contest in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Cade Cunningham never came back out for the fourth. Charlotte gave the ball away 25 times, which is the number the night turned on.
Nineteen unanswered points to end the third quarter
Charlotte stayed with it through the opening half and went to the break 11 points down, close enough that the shooting figures had not yet decided anything. Detroit then outscored Charlotte 33-21 in the third quarter, and the last 19 of those points came without reply. The quarter ended 98-75.
Charlotte had no route back from there. Detroit pushed the margin to 29 at 106-77, Charles Lee emptied his bench, and the closing minutes belonged to Kevin Huerter and Duncan Robinson shooting with nothing at stake.
The shooting gap underneath it
Detroit made 13 of its first 24 attempts from three-point range and finished at 18 of 37, which is 48.6 per cent, on 57.3 per cent shooting from the floor overall. Charlotte shot 38.1 per cent and went 13 of 44 from distance. Set beside those giveaways, which Detroit converted into 37 points, the gap stops looking like a hot night and starts looking like the whole explanation.
Cunningham’s third quarter, and six threes from Robinson
Cunningham finished with 33 points on 13 of 20 shooting, seven assists, five steals and five rebounds, and 17 of those points came in the third quarter. He sat the fourth, with the reason unstated by either the club or the reporters in the building.
Robinson scored 24 on 8 of 11 shooting, 6 of 9 of it from three. Ausar Thompson added 14 points with six rebounds and four assists, and Paul Reed and Ron Holland II each scored 11, Reed with five rebounds and four assists and Holland on 3 of 6 from three-point range. Detroit managed that without Jalen Duren, out with a right hamstring strain, and without Isaiah Joe and his right hip contusion.
Brandon Miller led Charlotte with 17, the second lowest total he has posted this season. Naz Reid scored 13, Sion James and Grayson Allen 11 apiece. Coby White made his season debut after missing the first seven games with a calf strain and took 7 points from just under 16 minutes on 3 of 8 shooting, under a minutes restriction his coach had flagged before the game. Lee also said Kon Knueppel’s return from a hamstring injury is “right around the corner.”
A second win over Charlotte in five days
Detroit is 6-1, a third consecutive win and a second against Charlotte following the 97-89 result at home on 28 October. The road record now reads 4-1, which matters more than the overall mark this early, because the schedule to this point has been weighted away from Little Caesars Arena.
Charlotte falls to 3-5 and a fourth straight defeat, with the next two games away from home. Knueppel and Grant Williams coming back would change the shape of the roster Lee has been working with, and neither has a confirmed date.
Philadelphia on Wednesday
Detroit hosts the 76ers at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN, with radio coverage on 97.1 The Ticket. Full viewing detail is on the Pistons against the 76ers viewing guide.
The game is a return meeting: Detroit won 106-93 in Philadelphia earlier this season. Duren is not expected back before 9 November on ESPN’s injury listing, so the centre minutes stay with Reed, and Reed’s five rebounds and four assists in Charlotte are the form line to watch against a Philadelphia front court that will test him more than this one did.
Sources
- Field Level Media, wire report, for the final score, player lines, shooting figures and the turnover count.
- Yahoo Sports, two accounts of the game, for the halftime margin, the 98-75 third-quarter score and the 29-point peak.
- ESPN, Pistons team page and pre-game data feed, for records, injury listings, estimated return dates and the earlier Philadelphia result.
- Associated Press, account carried by Infonews, for the Charles Lee remarks.
- Detroit Weekly News, Pistons against the 76ers viewing guide
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