The Detroit Pistons continued their jump from the season-starting mark with a 128-111 win over the Miami Heat in what would be their first road test of the young NBA season. John Collins led the way for the Motor City with 23 points while tacking on seven rebounds. Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo countered with 36 points and 12 rebounds of his own while adding five assists.
An early long-range barrage from the Pistons put them in the driver's seat as they stormed out to a 17-2 lead by the first timeout. Duncan Robinson, who knocked down one third of the Pistons' 3-point makes in their Tuesday win over the Boston Celtics, paired with one of Detroit's newest additions in Collins to take point in a top-heavy long-range attack that would end with 18 makes on 38 tries. The Pistons ended with 41 points in the first quarter, their highest in the quarter during the regular season since an April win over the Indiana Pacers, which gave them all the room they needed to keep their engines going even as they started to stall just one quarter later.
Detroit's frontcourt, led by a mixed bag of moves from Collins, anchored things down low on both sides of the floor enough to keep things balanced even as the Heat started to claw back with close-range attacks. The duo of Collins and Paul Reed combined for 42 points and 18 rebounds by game's end. While the Pistons had gone all but ice cold from the floor by the start of the second quarter, a handful of show-stopping finishes at the rim kept them afloat before they finally regained their footing. The Pistons would sink eight of their 21 buckets in the second quarter, a stark contrast from their first-quarter performance, but would hold off Miami's offense just enough to hold a 65-53 lead by halftime.
The Pistons' 3-point charm flashed back to life in the third quarter as another tidal wave of a run was fed by a trio of long-range makes. Antetokounmpo tried to put the team on his shoulders as he slashed and drove his way to six makes in the paint in the third quarter alone, but it wouldn't be enough to stop a Pistons offense that would garner 34 assists to Miami's 24 by the final horn. Six players, including a former unsung hero in Daniss Jenkins, would end the high-octane night in double-figures.
The Pistons will move to 2-0 after beating the Heat, a feat they pulled off once last season on three tries. Detroit doused the flame of Paul George's 38-point debut with the Celtics after three 20-point scorers helped guide the Pistons to an 8-point season-opening win. Cunningham and Duren, who combined for an even-split 44 points in Detroit's dash from the seasonal starting line, scored a combined 20 points in the Friday-night battle. Cunningham would add a team-high three blocks to go along with eight assists.
Detroit will move on to face the Philadelphia 76ers, who began their 2026-27 run 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 continue an Atlantic coast road trip with a bout of their own against the Knicks before heading back home to face the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 28.
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.
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