The Detroit Pistons are 2-0, and Friday’s 128-111 win over the Miami Heat showed exactly how they did it: a blistering start, enough shot-making to survive a lull, and a frontcourt that kept the pressure on all night.
John Collins set the tone for Detroit with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Paul Reed helped steady the middle as the Pistons handled Miami on the road in their first away game of the young NBA season. Together, Collins and Reed finished with 42 points and 18 rebounds. Cade Cunningham chipped in a team-high three blocks and eight assists, and six Pistons reached double figures, including Daniss Jenkins.
Miami had its answer in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who piled up 36 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, but it wasn’t enough to slow Detroit’s offense. The Pistons finished with 34 assists to the Heat’s 24 and kept finding ways to score even when the flow changed.
Detroit came flying out of the gate, jumping to a 17-2 lead by the first timeout behind an early 3-point surge. The Pistons knocked down 18 of 38 from deep, and their first quarter was especially sharp: 41 points, their highest in a regular-season first quarter since an April win over the Indiana Pacers. Duncan Robinson, who knocked down one third of the Pistons' 3-point makes in their Tuesday win over the Boston Celtics, was part of that top-heavy long-range attack along with Collins.
The pace cooled in the second quarter, when Detroit managed just eight made field goals on 21 attempts, but the Pistons still protected their advantage. A few highlight finishes at the rim helped them stay afloat while Miami chipped away, and Detroit went into halftime up 65-53.
The Pistons found their outside touch again in the third quarter, using another run sparked by three 3-pointers. Antetokounmpo kept attacking the paint, scoring six times there in the period, but Detroit had already built enough of a cushion to absorb the push.
Detroit’s 2-0 start follows its season-opening win over Boston, when three 20-point scorers helped the Pistons outlast the Celtics after dousing the flame of Paul George's 38-point debut. Cunningham and Jalen Duren combined for 44 points in that opener, then delivered 20 combined points Friday as Detroit kept rolling.
Next up is a meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers, who opened their 2026-27 season with wins over the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Sixers, who brought LeBron James's 8-year stay with the Los Angeles Lakers to an end by signing him in July, went 0-4 against Detroit in the regular season before landing in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Pistons will tip off against the 76ers at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday in Xfinity Mobile Arena. The game will be broadcast on TV20 Detroit and DAZN.
In Other News...
Ausar Thompson Injury Suddenly Casts A Shadow Over Pistons Win
The Pistons had to navigate more than just the Heat on the way to a 128-111 win, with injuries again becoming part of the story. Ausar Thompson left in the third quarter after hurting his right ankle, adding another uneasy moment to a night that had already seen Jalen Duren exit in the second quarter with a right thigh injury before being listed as questionable.
Detroit can enjoy the result and move on to Philadelphia, but the bigger concern now is the health of two key rotation pieces as the road trip continues. The win still counts, yet the way it was earned left the kind of aftertaste teams try to avoid, especially when the injury report starts to matter as much as the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Fast Start Just Took A Jalen Duren Concern Fans Feared
Detroits quick start against Miami had already put the Pistons in a favorable spot when the night took an unwelcome turn in the second quarter. Jalen Duren went out with a right thigh injury and was listed as questionable to return, forcing Paul Reed into the middle while Detroit tried to hold onto the momentum it built early.
Before exiting, Duren had already contributed across the board in just 10 minutes, finishing with four points, six rebounds and three assists. For a Pistons team that has leaned on his energy and interior presence, the bigger concern now is whether a strong opening against the Heat comes with a costly price. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Have A New Answer For The Defense That Buried Them
The Pistons are getting ready for a matchup with a Miami defense that can make life miserable around the basket, and the response in Detroit has been pretty clear. This seasons roster has more shooting on it, a deliberate attempt to stretch the floor and keep the lane from getting swallowed up the way it often did before, while also easing some of the burden on Cade Cunningham.
For Detroit, the hope is that a stronger perimeter threat can do more than just raise the 3-point count. It should force the Heats rim protection to respect the outside shot, open cleaner driving lanes and give the offense a better balance than it had a year ago, when too many possessions bogged down under pressure at the point of attack. [Read more 🡒]