Jalen Duren’s career-high powers of dominance beat the Mavericks

The Detroit Pistons they showed triumphantly in their match against the Dallas Mavericks in Mexico City. The Mavericks’ 122-110 win is theirs second win in a rowanchored by the center’s breakthrough night Jalen Duren.

The 21-year-old Pistons big man looked unstoppable against the Mavs as he scored a game-high 33 points on 13-of-16 shooting. Dallas entered the game in shorthand due to key injuries in the front fieldand Detroit took full advantage. Duren threatened goals from the street and created his own looks off the dribble. Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff was impressed with the efforts of his starting center from start to finish.

“Domination. He was phenomenal, he pressured the rim. He ran the floor, scored in a bunch of different ways. He worked the offensive boards for us, dominated the interior,” Bickerstaff said during his postgame media session.

Duren recorded his third double-double of the season by collecting 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. He made the Mavs pay at the free throw line from the contact he drew all game. Duren hit seven of his eight attempts, raising his season average to 87.5% from the line.

Bickerstaff emphasized that he wanted to Duren’s game to expand offensively. The Pistons are now 3-0 when Duren scores at least 20 points. His size and athleticism make him dangerous in transition, but now his confidence is growing when he creates his own shots.

Detroit took care of the ball very well, recording 29 assists and only eight turnovers. The greatest credit for that production belongs to All NBA point guard Cade Cunningham, who scored 21 points and had a career-high 18 assists. He helped maximize the team’s possession by turning the ball over just once.

The Pistons’ offense was very efficient, shooting 49.5% from the field. Their best production came in the interior, where they scored a team-high 72 points in the paint. Cunningham allowed a lot of those looks despite still seeing double teams against the Mavericks defense.

Cunningham finished last season as one of the players with the most losses in the NBA. The Pistons rely heavily on Cunningham’s production, and he clearly commanded Detroit’s offense against Dallas.

The pairing of Cunningham and Duren is developing into one of the most lethal tandems in the league. Detroit’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft talked about the impact of his relationship with Duren.

“He’s such a beast, he makes me look good. He makes my job easy. I always say the break with JD and Ausar Thompson is the easiest job in the world. I’m certainly thankful for my teammates,” Cunningham said after the game.

Six different Pistons scored in double figures in Saturday night’s win. Guard Duncan Robinson had another stellar shooting performance with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Forward Ausar Thompson scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Veteran Tobias Harris scored 11 points in 35 minutes of action. Reserve center Isaiah Stewart scored 10 points and recorded two game-high defensive blocks.