Jalen Duren powers surging Pistons past Raptors

Field Level Media|published: Wed 13th March, 21:47 2024

Mar 13, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) grabs the rebound over Toronto Raptors guard Jahmi'us Ramsey (37) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. credits: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Duren had 24 points and 23 rebounds to lead the host Detroit Pistons to a 113-104 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Duren recorded his third 20-20 game of the season. Cade Cunningham had 19 points and six assists, Isaiah Stewart supplied 15 points and Jaden Ivey tossed in 14 points with seven assists.

Simone Fontecchio added 12 points and Marcus Sasser chipped in 11. The Pistons have gone 3-1 during a six-game homestand after winning just nine of their first 61 games.

Immanuel Quickley led the Raptors with 25 points and eight assists. Kelly Olynyk supplied 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Bruce Brown had 17 points and five assists.

The Pistons led 32-27 after the opening quarter but the Raptors held a 57-52 at halftime. Toronto had a 26-5 run during the first nine minutes of the second quarter that was sparked by the second unit.

Detroit finished the half with a 15-4 spurt. Duren, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the half, began the run with a dunk and finished it with a bucket inside. Cunningham contributed two 3-pointers during that span.

The Pistons carried that momentum into the third quarter, beginning it with a 13-4 run to take a 65-61 lead. Stewart scored the Pistons' last six points during that span.

Neither team held a lead of more than four points for the remainder of the quarter. Stanley Umude's 3-pointer gave Detroit an 83-79 advantage heading into the fourth.

Ivey's basket with 9:06 left gave the Pistons an 87-81 lead. He also scored the next basket on a bank shot, then set up Sasser for a 10-point Pistons lead.

Fontecchio's 3-pointer with 6:24 remaining nudged Detroit's advantage to 94-83. Sasser hit a 3-pointer with 4:26 remaining, stretching Detroit's advantage to 100-87.

After a Raptors timeout, Sasser set up Stewart for a 3-pointer.

Quickley made a layup with 2:18 remaining to cut Toronto's deficit to 11. The Raptors were unable to get it into single digits until the last minute of play.

—Field Level Media

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