The Pistons survived a shocking 4th quarter collapse against the Blazers

The Detroit Pistons opened their five-game West Coast road trip with a 110-102 win against the Portland Trail Blazers. However, it took a strong fourth-quarter comeback to get there.

After leading by as many as 21 points in the third quarter, the Pistons began to unravel in the final period in more ways than one. All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham fouled out early in the fourth after no fouls were registered in the first half. Portland cut the deficit to nine and went on a 12-2 run to steal the lead. Detroit fought back without their franchise player, going on an 11-2 run to end the game.

The Pistons’ ridiculous finish helped them improve their record to 23-6 and maintain first place in the Eastern Conference. Head Coach JB Bickerstaff worked out with the media about what could have caused the collapse and how to do better going forward.

“It was discipline on our part, myself included. Again we made sure to hold the line, stay focused on the task at hand. I felt like we got away from that,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s my responsibility to hold them to it, but also to act on it. We’ve got to do a better job of that. Give our guys a ton of credit down the stretch. So many guys made so many plays for us. Tobias (Harris’) poised, Ausar (Thompson) helping with steals, his boards, JD (Jalen Duren) with a huge offensive jump. We had so many guys help us finish that game. That speaks to the depth and collective of this team.”

Pistons’ Cade Cunningham fouled out

Cunningham’s removal from the game was shocking and gave the Blazers a big boost in terms of momentum. Bickerstaff talked about his impression that Cunningham fouled out Monday night.

“I thought that fifth foul was a foul he could have gone without. He did so much and did so much tonight to help us get that lead. It’s our responsibility, he and I as the leaders of this team, to be disciplined going forward,” Bickerstaff said.

Detroit’s elite-level defense carried them for most of the match. They managed to force 19 turnovers by the Blazers and capitalized on them with 26 points. This also helped give the Pistons 34 fast break points and 66 points in the paint.

Six different Pistons players finished the night in double figures. Center Jalen Duren led all scorers in the game with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field with ten rebounds. After struggling with foul trouble in the first half, Duren asserted his dominance in the third quarter with 16 points against Portland.

Forward Ausar Thompson had one of his strongest performances of the season. The third-year wing finished with a double-double of his own, recording 18 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Thompson also bounced back from early foul trouble with three first-half fouls.

Guard Duncan Robinson had 15 points for the Pistons. Cunningham had 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds before fouling out. Forward Tobias Harris added 12 points in 33 minutes for Detroit. Running back Jaden Ivey had one of his strongest performances of the season since then coming back from a leg injury adding 11 points.