Pistons host Pelicans, looking to bounce back from rare loss
The Detroit Pistons had their four-game winning streak snapped by the red-hot Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. They'll look to start a new one when they host the lowly New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
Detroit dropped a 130-129 overtime thriller at home to the Hawks. Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren both missed shots in the final three seconds that would have extended the streak.
It was their first loss since star guard Cade Cunningham was diagnosed with a collapsed lung. Cunningham will miss his fifth straight contest on Thursday.
Detroit trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half, then climbed back by scoring the first 16 points of the second half.
"Didn't like the way that we dug a hole in the first half, but to be able to have the conversation at halftime and come out and play the way that we did in the third quarter, fourth quarter, again, is a credit to the guys," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "Obviously, we came up a point short, a bucket short. But most teams don't even get themselves in that position. Most guys, most teams don't even have the fortitude to dig down, collect themselves, pick themselves up off the mat, so to speak, and go out there and do what our guys did. So, no moral victories, but (I'm) proud of our guys' effort."
Duren, the team's other All-Star along with Cunningham, led the way on Wednesday with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
"He's just everywhere," forward Ausar Thompson said. "He's blocking shots, he's rebounding and then he's sprinting the floor on the offensive end and getting us easy buckets, easy steals. So, he does a lot."
Detroit is wrapping up a four-game homestand vs. New Orleans. The Pistons (52-20), who are looking to protect their four-game lead over the Boston Celtics and lock up the top seed in the Eastern Conference, play six of their remaining nine regular-season games on the road after Thursday's contest.
The Pelicans (25-48) have lost their last two games while putting up a good fight against two other Eastern Conference contenders. They lost at home to Cleveland 111-106 on Saturday, then began a three-game road trip with a 121-116 loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
Zion Williamson led them in scoring both contests, including a 22-point outing on Tuesday. Williamson is shooting 67.7% from the field this month.
"He kept us in the game," Pelicans' interim head coach James Borrego said of the game against the Knicks. "You felt his physicality from the first moment. He does that for us. He gives us our paint pressure, our physicality, our energy. I thought he was phenomenal."
Dejounte Murray was held to seven points -- his lowest output since returning late last month from an Achilles tear -- but he recorded a season-high 12 assists.
New Orleans had won five of six games prior to the last two losses.
"We're moving in the right direction," Borrego said. "This group is playing at a high level."
The Pelicans haven't had much success on the road, going 9-26.
"Our defense has to travel with us," Borrego said. "To be a good road team, you have to take your defense on the road."