Pistons crank out wins while Wizards continue to struggle
The one-two punch of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren has carried the Detroit Pistons to a six-game winning streak. Detroit will look to make it seven straight when the rebuilding Washington Wizards visit on Monday night.
Cunningham overcame a slow start to rack up 26 points and 11 assists in a 111-108 road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. Duren, a center, piled up 21 points and 16 rebounds.
Cunningham, who was selected as an All-Star guard last season, has made a habit of taking over games in the second half.
"It's his routine," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "He's elite when the game is on the line. There's not many people in this league that can do the things he does. He gets to the spots that he can get to and he finishes.
"There's just so much he does, but the unsung part about it is what he does defensively," Bickerstaff continued. "He's always in the right spot, comes up with steals for us. He competes at that end of it, too."
During the winning streak, Cunningham is averaging 29.2 points, 11.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds, while Duren is averaging 23.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Regulars Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart didn't play against the Sixers due to ankle injuries. Duncan Robinson, who was acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat during the offseason, helped fill the void on Sunday with 17 points. Caris LeVert, signed as a free agent over the summer, had his best outing of the season with 14 points off the bench.
"We're down quite a few bodies, but we thought coming into this year one of our strengths was our depth," Bickerstaff said.
The Wizards won just 15 games two seasons ago and 18 last season. They're already in a familiar spot after 10 games -- at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Washington is 1-9 and carries an eight-game losing streak into Detroit. The Wizards played twice over the weekend, getting pummeled by Cleveland 148-115 on Friday before showing more grit while falling to Dallas 111-105 on Saturday.
The Wizards held the lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks outscored them 29-19 in the final 12 minutes.
"I was really pleased with the guys (Saturday), the competitive response we were looking for. These are the games we want to be in -- close games, tight games, a lot to learn from that," Wizards coach Brian Keefe said.
"Our effort, our physicality, our defensive edge was there and our competitiveness," he added. "Got a little stagnant there in the fourth quarter, which can happen. Those are learning and growing moments, but we're doing this as a group, and I was really pleased with our response from the last game."
Veteran guard CJ McCollum has led Washington with 25 points in each of the last two games. Second-year big man Alex Sarr tops the team in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (7.7) and blocks (2.5).
Detroit has won three of the last four meetings. Cunningham averaged 28.7 points, 10.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds in three games against the Wizards last season.