No Anthony Edwards and no Cade Cunningham, but the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons still played a thrilling game between NBA playoff contenders on Thursday night.
Jalen Duran scored 22 points with 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, leading Detroit to a 113-108 home win. And Daniss Jenkins — who has been the revelation of the Pistons’ season — added 26 points (hitting both of his 3-point tries) with five rebounds and eight assists.
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Fresh off earning NBA Defensive Player of the Month honors, Ausar Thompson tallied seven points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals and three blocks.
The Pistons have won four of their past five games and eight of their last 10 . Without Cunningham, they’ve gone 7-2 and maintained a 4.5-game lead over the Boston Celtics for the top seed in the Eastern Conference at 56-21 with five games remaining on their regular-season schedule.
Detroit and Minnesota were tied 54-54 at halftime and the T-Wolves held a 80-79 going into the fourth quarter. The two teams traded leads four times before Minnesota went ahead 87-83 on two Julius Randle free throws.
From there, however, the Pistons went on a 20-5 run capped off by a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer to go ahead 103-92 with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Minnesota cut Detroit’s lead to 109-106 on an Ayo Dosunmu basket and free throw with 17.6 seconds left. But the Pistons put the game away at the free throw line with Jenkins making two, followed by another pair from Javonte Green.
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Randle led all scorers with 27 points for the Timberwolves, adding six rebounds and six assists with co-owner Alex Rodriguez in attendance at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.
Minnesota Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez attended his team’s road game versus the Detroit Pistons on April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Dosunmu and Naz Reid each contributed 19 points. Reid also grabbed six boards, shooting 4-for-8 on 3-pointers. Minnesota dropped to 46-30, one game behind the Houston Rockets for the West’s fifth seed but 4.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the No. 6 spot.
The Pistons may have lost another player to injury. Tobias Harris left the game in the second quarter with a left knee contusion and did not return. Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff did not have an update on Harris’ condition after the game. But the Pistons are already missing Cunningham (who’s been sidelined for nine games) and Isaiah Stewart (out the past 11 games with a left calf strain).
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Both the Pistons and Timberwolves face the Philadelphia 76ers (42-34) on the road next, with Minnesota visiting them on Friday followed by Detroit on Saturday.