The Pistons give up their 19-point lead, but rally in OT to beat the Heat

Detroit – The Detroit Pistons recorded a thrilling 125-124 overtime victory over the Miami Heat on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena. They gave up a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter as the Heat outscored them 33-17.

Late in the fourth quarter, Tyler Herro hit a huge 3-point field goal to cut Miami’s deficit to three. On the next offensive possession, Jimmy Butler’s layup brought the Heat within one point (112-111) with 1:10 left. Cade Cunningham hit two free throws to give the Pistons a three-point lead. However, Herro scored another three-pointer to send the game into overtime. The Heat outscored Detroit 18-2 in the final five minutes of regulation.

The Heat and Pistons traded baskets in the final minutes of overtime. Butler scored on a layup attempt to give the Heat a 124-123 lead, but lost his shoe in the process. Cunningham took advantage of the five-on-four possession and scored a basket, giving the Pistons a 125-124 lead with 38 seconds left. Butler led Miami with a game-high 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Herro added 23.

The former No. 1 overall pick led the Pistons with his sixth triple-double of the season, totaling 20 points, 18 assists and 11 rebounds. He scored eight dimes in the first half, helping give Detroit a 63-59 lead.

Malik Beasley, starting in place of Ivey, received more than half of Cunningham’s assists and scored 13 of his team-high 28 points in the first half. He finished shooting efficiently, going 9 of 18 from the floor and 7 of 13 from behind the arc.

Since his season debut on November 25, Ausar Thompson had his best game despite ongoing knee problems, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds. At 11:18 of the third quarter, he converted a two-handed dunk and landed awkwardly on his left knee. He limped to the sideline and after a brief evaluation by the training staff, Thompson returned. He finished the evening with a season-best time of 26 minutes.

Aside from a few nagging injuries, the Pistons have been relatively healthy through the first 26 games of the season. However, Monday night’s game against the Miami Heat resulted in the Pistons leaving the game with two rotation players injured.

First, Jaden Ivey had to come in late due to left knee pain and unexpectedly spent the night at the end of the bench in a gray Nike warm-up. Early in the second quarter, the Pistons lost backup Isaiah Stewart, who suffered a hyperextended left knee attempting a layup against the Heat’s Terry Rozier. They are between 11 and 16 in total.

The Pistons host the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. The game will be Detroit’s final home game of the calendar year. The Pistons begin a four-game road trip to the West Coast on Saturday against the Phoenix Suns. Tipoff between the Pistons and Jazz is scheduled for 7 p.m. at LCA.

Observations vs. Heat

▶ Tobias Harris ruled day after day: Ivey and Stewart weren’t the only players sidelined against the Heat. Tobias Harris missed his second game this season because of a sprained right thumb he suffered Thursday against the Boston Celtics. While Bickerstaff expressed the difficulty of replacing Harris’ performance, he revealed before the game that the veteran forward will be preoccupied with his impending return.

▶ Ausar Thompson put together his best game of the season: In his second start, Thompson had his best performance. He showed his potential as a prominent two-way player. However, it was the little intangibles on the field that set Thompson apart.

On the first defensive possession, Thompson used his athleticism to save Duncan Robinson’s alley-oop attempt from Bam Adebayo. Thompson later forced Robinson into a turnover after taking the ball away from him as he attempted to attack downhill. On offense, he gave Cunningham a tenacious point of attack that filled the lane in transition. Four of Cunningham’s 18 assists came in transition.

▶ Improving their ability to defend the 3: The Pistons entered the game as one of the teams with the worst defense against the 3-ball. They allowed their opponents to shoot 37.7% from behind the arc, and their struggles led to Bickerstaff highlighting the issue during a rare back-to-back days of practice. The results resulted in the Pistons holding the Heat to a 27.9% shooting percentage, which was one of their best defensive performances of the year.

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The Pistons give up their 19-point lead, but rally in OT to beat the Heat

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