With Tobias Harris sidelined with a right thumb sprain and Jaden Ivey a late scratch after warmups, the Detroit Pistons fielded typical starters Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Duren, but also added offensive defense – Two hits from Malik Beasley and Ausar Thompson. I’m not sure if this lineup had ever seen minutes together before tonight, but this group took us on a roller coaster ride with one of the craziest games we’ve seen this season.

The game started with a lot of post action from Cade. Miami sent out the double team and Cade found his shooters in Beasley and THJ for open threes. After a back-and-forth affair and another post possession in which Cade left his defender in the dust, Miami called its first timeout after Detroit led 19-11. Miami erased the deficit, but a three-pointer from Ausar Thompson helped the Pistons maintain the lead.

JB Bickerstaff called his first timeout after Detroit led 22-21 with four and a half minutes left. The two teams traded baskets as Stew had a few bunnies under the rim and Ron Holland continued to be hot from deep with another three. The Pistons had a 33-32 lead at the end of the first period, but the real highlight was this missed dunk from Ausar Thompson that nearly killed a man:

An 11-2 Detroit win opened the second quarter with Cade Cunningham repeatedly finding his shooters for open three-pointers. Isaiah Stewart attempted to challenge a Bam Adebayo layup but landed awkwardly and tried to tweak his left knee as he immediately headed to the locker room. Ausar missed a few bunnies at the rim that he usually makes, but he was extremely active with two early steals and a block. He also hit a lob from Cade Cunningham in transition that forced a Miami timeout as Detroit led 49-37 with seven minutes left in the second quarter.

Ausar grabbed his third steal and then hit his patented fadeaway jumper in the lane to extend the lead to 14. Duren hit a Dwight Howard-style dunk on Kevin Love and Cade threw a no-look pass to a cutting Holland for a reverse layup as Little Caesars Arena responded well to Detroit’s strong play with a 58-46 lead.

Miami countered with an 8-0 run, cutting Detroit’s lead to four as it felt like Jimmy Butler was screaming for a call after every layup – and it worked. Paul Reed came into action just minutes after being re-signed two hours before the game, and Detroit would need him after Stew was sidelined with a hyperextended knee. Get well soon, Stew.

The Pistons took a 63-59 lead behind the play of Cade, Ausar and Beasley. Cade had 10 points on 4-for-4 from the field, five rebounds and eight assists. Ausar had a coming out party as he scored 11 points, five rebounds, one assist, three steals and one block – all in just 13 minutes! Beasley was Detroit’s leading scorer with 13 goals and shot 3-for-3 from long range – the entire team shot 9-for-13 from beyond the arc. Jimmy Butler was the only Heat player in double figures as he had 21 for Miami.

The Pistons started the second half with a 9-0 run after Cade found Ausar and Duren for easy shots and Malik Beasley added three more goals. Detroit took an 82-66 lead midway through the third period when Cade Ausar scored for another dunk and his 14th assist of the game. Cade seemed to be in control as he constantly tested his teammates and didn’t seem to force anything. He had a sequence where Bam switched to him so he drilled another three-pointer off the dribble and then trapped Jimmy Butler at the other end to force him into a miss where he also grabbed the rebound – we see as Cade makes the jump and he 100% deserves to be an All-Star this year.

The Pistons continued to be hot on offense by keeping the ball moving and Malik Beasley continuing to practice open threes. Beasley made his six three-pointers on the night to give the Pistons a 93-74 lead with two and a half minutes left in the third. Detroit closed out the third quarter with a Holland/Tecc/Ausar front court, with Holland guarding Jimmy Butler on a drive and Ausar having an incredible weak spot contest that left Butler unable to block a shot. We get glimpses of Ron and Ausar’s future and I WANT MORE!

Detroit entered the fourth round with a 97-81 lead. Some of the Pistons’ turnovers looked a little sloppy, but a tomahawk slam from Malik Beasley for his 25th point forced Erik Spoelstra into a timeout while Detroit led 101-85 – he seemed pretty angry on the sideline all night to be. Cade Cunningham challenged Jaime Jaquez to a quick dance after spinning him around for another three-pointer off the dribble to extend the lead back to 19.

I lost track of the number of Ausar dunks and Beasley threes because neither one stopped all night. Beasley continues to look like this summer’s best budget free agent signing, scoring a season-high 28 points after his seventh three-pointer of the night.

A three-pointer by Tyler Herro and a layup by Terry Rozier ensured JB Bickerstaff used his final timeout with 2:24 left as the Pistons led 112-106 after Detroit led by 19 with eight minutes left in the quarter. Herro was hot once again as another three-pointer landed and Jimmy Butler brought the game to within one point after a layup. We once again saw the Pistons collapse in the fourth quarter.

Herro and Butler both missed their next shots with 30 seconds left and Cade drew a foul on the next possession, giving the Pistons the lead after knocking down both free throws. With 11.5 seconds left, Miami set up a set for Tyler Herro, who hit a bizarre three-pointer over Cade and Simone to tie the game at 114. Cade had a good look at the buzzer from 30 feet away, but narrowly missed it as the shot was too far. It seemed pretty obvious to foul a Miami player before he could make a game-winning three-pointer, but that never happened. Miami ended the fourth quarter with an 18-2 run.

Detroit hadn’t made a field goal since 5:39 of the fourth quarter. Miami was ahead 122-114 until Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a three-pointer with 2:07 left in overtime. Cade found him two more times as THJ did his best Malik Beasley impression by hitting three straight three-pointers to breathe life back into the Pistons by a 123-122 lead. Shoeless Jimmy Butler hit a layup to regain the lead, but Cade charged down the court while Jimmy tried to put his shoe back on and managed to hit a layup that fell over Bam and Rozier.

Pistons had the ball with 16 seconds left leading 125-124, but THJ threw an errant inbound pass to Malik Beasley and gave it right back to Miami for a free chance to win. After a quick foul, Miami hit the ball to Tyler Herro, who had an even possession against Jalen Duren, but Duren put up a great fight and Herro couldn’t be the hero tonight as Detroit won 125-124 in overtime.

I didn’t have my Apple Watch on, but there’s no doubt I was in calorie-burning mode since my heart rate was at treadmill levels. This was the craziest game of the season, where I felt excitement, anger, disappointment and relief in just a few minutes – but that’s life as a Pistons fan and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Detroit shot 49% from the field and 50% from deep behind Beasley’s seven three-pointers and THJ’s five three-pointers. Cade Cunningham is an absolute maniac who finished with another triple-double: 20 points, 11 rebounds and 18 assists (a new career high). Jalen Duren was again very active on the boards with nine points and 16 rebounds. Best of all, Ausar Thompson was finally unleashed in his role as Athletic Draymond as he filled the stat sheet with 19 points, nine rebounds, one assist, four steals and one block in 27 minutes. That’s right – Ausar played 27 minutes tonight, baby!

The Pistons are 11-16 this season. Detroit plays again on Thursday night when they host the 5-19 Utah Jazz.

Good luck getting some quick sleep afterwards.