Cade Cunningham scored 28 points and had 13 assists, Jalen Duren added 17 points and 11 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons defeated the Phoenix Suns 133-125 on Saturday night.
The Pistons dominated most of the game and never trailed after the first few minutes. The Suns cut their deficit to 122-119 with 2:26 left on a pair of Kevin Durant free throws, but Malik Beasley responded with a corner 3 to thwart the comeback attempt.
Durant scored a season-high 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting and made all 11 free throws. Bradley Beal added 26, but the Suns couldn’t overcome the 19 turnovers.
Seven Detroit players scored in double figures. Jaden Ivey had 20, Beasley added 18 and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 16.
Detroit jumped out to a 41-26 lead late in the first quarter, scoring 16 points off seven Phoenix turnovers. The Suns cut the margin to 64-59 at halftime.
The Suns played their first game of the season without four-time All-Star guard Devin Booker, who is out with left groin soreness.
Pistons: Detroit’s aggressive defense caused problems for the Suns all night. The surging Pistons have won three of their past five games.
Suns: They have lost twelve of their last eighteen games after starting the season 8-1. Turnovers were the main culprit on Saturday. Booker’s absence certainly played a role, but there’s no real excuse for being so sloppy.
The Suns had some hope in the final minute, but Cunningham hit a three-pointer with 33.8 seconds left, pushing the Pistons’ lead to seven.
The Suns shot almost 62% from the field in the first three quarters, but still trailed 103-94, mainly due to turnovers and poor defense.
The Pistons will visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
