The young Pistons were full of energy, beating the Raptors 103-87 at home, while the listless Raptors suffered two straight losses after six straight wins, falling out of the top eight in the East again.
Statistics
Cunningham contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 8-of-15 shooting, Diallo had 18 points and six rebounds, Trey Lyles on the bench contributed a team-high 21 points, and Sadiq Bay scored 15 points.
For the Raptors, Siakam had 23 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, VanVleet 24 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers, but only 6 of 21 shooting, Anunoby 16 points, Barnes had 8 points and 7 rebounds on 4-of-13 shooting.
Game review
The Pistons Juniors played an aggressive defense from the start, and the Raptors seemed to be unprepared for it, being counter-attacked by the opponent, falling behind 7-13 at the beginning, and starting center Ken Birch also withdrew from the game early due to a nasal bone injury. Anunoby hit back-to-back three-point shots, but the pistons, who were playing aggressively, stretched the gap further into double digits, and before the end of the first quarter, VanVleet and Boucher joined forces to chase the score to 27-31.
Shortly after the start of the second quarter, Siakam hit a shot to narrow the gap to just two points left, but after that, they didn't score for six and a half consecutive minutes, and were sent on a 15-5 offensive wave, and the score was pulled apart again. After that, it was VanVleet and Siakam who continued to attack, but after halftime, the Raptors still trailed by 13 points at 43-56. In this quarter, the Raptors scored only 16 points in total.
In the second half, the Raptors' offensive attack still did not ease much, and the point difference on the court was once stretched to 18 points. Pistons bench center Trey Lyles played against Raptors super rookie Barnes before the end of the third quarter to help the team lead 83-66 into the final quarter.
In the first 9 minutes and 39 seconds of the final game, Saben Lee's two three-pointers extended the gap to 21 points, but after that, the Pistons suddenly fell into a scoring drought, and the Raptors played a 13-0 counterattack, and the point difference was narrowed to the number of people.
At the crucial moment, Hayes broke the deadlock and scored two points, and then Cunningham hit a key three-pointer 2:41 before the final game to reassure the Pistons. The game has basically lost suspense at this point, and the Raptors finally failed to fill the pit and drink hate on the road.
Both sides started
Raptors: VanVleet, Anunoby, Barnes, Siakam, Birch
Pistons: Hayes, Cunningham, Bay, Diallo, Stewart