No matter which players Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff puts on the court these days, they produce and the Pistons keep winning. Detroit will be shooting for its eighth consecutive victory when it hosts the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
The streak was in peril on Monday against the lowly Washington Wizards. Playing without a handful of rotation players, the Pistons were down double digits with five minutes remaining. Little-used Daniss Jenkins drained a last-second, corner 3-pointer to send the game into overtime before the Pistons pulled out a 137-135 win.
“There’s a grit to them. There’s a toughness to them. I couldn’t be more proud of their effort,” Bickerstaff said. “Down as many bodies as we were, a tough game last night, a team (Washington) sitting here waiting on us fresh, down 13 in the fourth quarter — we had plenty of times where we could have given it up and just got ready for Wednesday. But that’s not the nature of this group, just to see the way we did it and how many different people contributed.”
Jenkins, who is on a two-way contract, played 34 minutes and wound up with a career-high 24 points, along with eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.
“It didn’t surprise me because I always knew he had it in him. He just had to get an opportunity,” center Jalen Duren said of Jenkins.
Javonte Green played a season-high 38 minutes and contributed 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
Detroit forwards Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart sat out due to ankle injuries. Caris LeVert was rested in the second game of a back-to-back and Jaden Ivey is on the mend from knee surgery.
Star guard Cade Cunningham, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, landed hard on his tailbone while getting fouled in the fourth quarter but remained in the game. He finished with a career-high 46 points, though he took a whopping 45 field goal attempts. He made 14.
The Bulls carry a three-game losing streak into Detroit. They lost to San Antonio, 121-117, on Monday. Chicago played without starting guard Josh Giddey, who was nursing an ankle injury.
“Those losses hurt for sure,” center Nikola Vucevic said. “It’s part of the season. You go through the ups and downs.”
Kevin Huerter scored 23 points and fellow guards Tre Jones and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 20 against the Spurs while dishing out a combined 17 assists. It wasn’t enough, as San Antonio shot 51.2 percent from the field.
The Bulls are hopeful that Giddey can return against a division opponent. He’s averaging 21.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game.
“I don’t think it’s anything too severe with his ankle,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “But I think with what we’ve got coming today, and then Detroit, we have a few days off. He just didn’t feel great today. We’ll see how he feels going to Detroit.”
The Bulls recorded a 115-111 season-opening victory over the Pistons. Vucevic led the way with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while five other Chicago players scored at least 12 points.