Pistons
Pistons Lead From the First Quarter and Hold Off Heat 128-111 With 18 Threes
Detroit beat Miami 128-111 at Kaseya Center and never trailed. The Pistons hit 18 of 38 from three and got 64 bench points. Detroit moves to 2-0, and Miami is 0-2.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 6 h ago01The story of the nightA 41-point first quarter sets the toneDetroit scored 41 in the first quarter to Miami's 26, and the Heat spent the rest of the night chasing.
Detroit scored 41 in the first quarter to Miami's 26, and the Heat spent the rest of the night chasing. The game had no lead changes. Miami's biggest lead was zero. The Pistons went into halftime up 65-53 after the Heat won the second quarter 27-24. Detroit pushed the margin to its high point in the third. The Pistons scored 38 to Miami's 27 and led 103-80 after three, with a biggest lead of 23. Miami outscored Detroit 31-25 in the fourth, but the game was already settled. The Heat never got closer than the halftime gap in any meaningful stretch, and the final was 128-111.
02Collins and Reed lead a deep Detroit attackJohn Collins led the Pistons with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 6 from three, and added 7 rebounds.
John Collins led the Pistons with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 6 from three, and added 7 rebounds. Paul Reed came off the bench for 19 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. Duncan Robinson scored 17 with five threes. Cade Cunningham had 16 points and 8 assists, but he also turned it over 7 times. Daniss Jenkins gave Detroit 15 points and 5 assists off the bench. For Miami, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36 points with 12 rebounds and 5 assists on 15-of-26 shooting. Davion Mitchell added 18 points and 5 assists. No other Heat player scored more than 11.
03Where it was won: threes, bench and the breakThe three-point line decided this one.
The three-point line decided this one. Detroit made 18 of 38. Miami made 15 of 51. The Heat shot 39 of 102 overall, 38.2 percent, while the Pistons hit 47 of 89, 52.8 percent. Klay Thompson went 2 of 11 from three. Andrew Wiggins was 3 of 12 from the field. The bench gap was wide: Detroit's reserves scored 64 points, and Miami's scored 39. Detroit also won the fast-break count 22-16. Miami did win some categories. The Heat had 64 rebounds to 56, 46 paint points to 42, and 23 points off turnovers to 12. Those edges were not enough against the shooting gap.
04Turnovers and effort, and what Miami did rightDetroit gave the ball away 19 times, to Miami's 12, and Cunningham accounted for 7 of them.
Detroit gave the ball away 19 times, to Miami's 12, and Cunningham accounted for 7 of them. The Heat turned those into 23 points. Miami also forced eight steals and blocked five shots. But the Heat took 51 threes and 102 shots, and too many missed. Free throws were uneven too. Miami went 18 of 28 from the line, and Bam Adebayo was 0 of 2 there. Adebayo finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 23.3 minutes, and Miami was outscored by 22 points while he was on the floor. Antetokounmpo was minus-23 despite his 36 points.
05What it means for each teamDetroit is 2-0 and is 2-0 over its last 10.
Detroit is 2-0 and is 2-0 over its last 10. The Pistons won with balance: six players scored at least 12 points, and the bench carried a large share. They did it with a 52.8 percent shooting night and no lead changes to sweat. Miami drops to 0-2 and sits 13th in the East. The Heat are 0-2 over their last 10, and they have now lost twice in a row to start the year. Antetokounmpo is producing, but the supporting cast shot poorly, and the three-point volume is not turning into points. Miami needs more from Thompson, Wiggins and Adebayo.
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