All-Stars Jalen Duren, Cade Cunningham power Pistons’ rout of Nets
Jalen Duren, who was named an NBA All-Star for the first time prior to the game, had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the host Detroit Pistons pounded the Brooklyn Nets 130-77 on Sunday.
Fellow All-Star Cade Cunningham supplied 18 points, 12 assists and four steals for the Pistons, who have won eight of their last 10 games. Daniss Jenkins also scored 18 points in the opener of a four-game homestand. Tobias Harris added 11 points and Marcus Sasser chipped in 10 for the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons.
Cam Thomas and Drake Powell led the Nets with 12 points apiece. Nic Claxton added 10 for Brooklyn, which shot 32.9% from the field and committed 23 turnovers.
Brooklyn's leading scorer, Michael Porter Jr., did not make the trip due to personal reasons. The Nets, who started three rookies for the second straight game, have lost eight of their last nine contests.
Detroit was clinging to a 43-38 lead with six minutes left in the first half. The Pistons then erupted, going on a 24-6 run to grab a 23-point halftime lead.
It got started with a Cunningham layup, and he proceeded to dominate the rest of the half. Cunningham added two more layups, a free throw, two steals and his 10th assist of the half. Harris reached double digits by knocking down a late 3-pointer and Ausar Thompson capped it off by making a steal and banking in a 41-footer at the buzzer.
Detroit stretched its lead to 36 before the Nets scored in the second half. Duren got that 13-0 run started with a layup. He assisted on a Cunningham layup, followed by two free throws and two more layups. Duren finished it off with an alley-oop dunk for an 80-44 lead.
Nolan Traore hit a 3-pointer with 7:14 left in the quarter to finally end the Nets' drought.
The lead ballooned to as many as 45 points and the Pistons finished the quarter with a 100-62 lead.