The Detroit Pistons nearly pulled off the most unexpected result of their most successful season in decades Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With a road matchup against the team holding the best record in the NBA, the Pistons were without their top five scorers due to various injuries. No Cade Cunningham, no Jalen Duren, even no Duncan Robinson.
Still, the Pistons found themselves in an overtime game against the reigning NBA champions after trailing by 10 at halftime.
It took a Herculean effort from reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 47 points — going 12-of-19 from the field and sinking 21 foul shots — but the Thunder eventually put away a gutsy Pistons team, 114-110, in overtime at Paycom Center.
The Pistons had six players in double digits led by Paul Reed with 21 alongside 10 rebounds and four blocks, with Javonte Green adding 19 points and Kevin Huerter with another 17 with six assists.
Detroit’s starters kept pace with the Thunder early as Green and Huerter sank threes and they took advantage of second-chance opportunities. The Pistons would finish with 15 offensive rebounds, scoring 16 off those extra chances.
A 10-2 run to start the second quarter gave Oklahoma City some breathing room, but Detroit never quite let them run away as Daniss Jenkins started finding his groove driving to the rim.
After trailing by 10 at the half — while shooting 33% from the field — the Pistons opened up the second half on a 7-0 run as a Green three-pointer from a Jenkins kickout pulled them back within three.
Detroit stayed with the Thunder for the rest of the third quarter, shooting 71% from the field in the period to trail by five.
An early workaround by the Pistons found LeVert in the corner for a three to get two down in the fourth quarter. A few possessions later, Marcus Sasser stripped Chet Holmgren on the defensive end and found Huerter for the lead-taking three-pointer.
Going down as much as seven, Gilegeous-Alexander personally got the Thunder back in striking distance, scoring 11 points without another teammate adding to it until Jaylin Williams tied the game at 99 with a corner three.
Ausar Thompson, the lone typical Detroit starter available for the game, fouled out with just under two minutes to go in regulation after posting eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Even so, the Pistons held on for overtime after a potential game-winning shot from Gilgeous-Alexander was called off for a push-off foul.
The offense dried up in overtime as a Huerter three and a Reed driving dunk were the only real offense they could muster and the Thunder ran to victory behind an Alex Caruso three and more foul shots for Gilgeous-Alexander.
It was still quite the showcase for Detroit taking the top team in the league to overtime, despite all their absent contributors. Thanks to a Boston Celtics loss Monday night, the Pistons now only need three wins to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
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Up next: The Pistons are right back to work Tuesday night, hosting the Toronto Raptors (42-32).