Pistons Close Preseason With 129-125 Win Over Raptors as Cunningham Scores 18
The Detroit Pistons closed out their preseason schedule with a 129-125 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, Oct. 16, at Little Caesars Arena, finishing the exhibition slate 3-1. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 18 points and seven assists on 8-of-12 shooting, while center Jalen Duren added 14 points and two steals on 6-of-9 shooting, though he also committed six turnovers.
Six Pistons scored in double figures: rookie first-round pick Ebuka Okorie had 14 points, Ausar Thompson scored 12 on perfect 5-of-5 shooting with four assists, John Collins added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Isaiah Joe scored 10. Detroit shot 58% from the field and held Toronto to 42.9%.
Toronto, playing the second night of a preseason back-to-back, rested its entire regular starting lineup, including Kawhi Leonard and two-time All-Star Scottie Barnes. Detroit led by as many as 13, but a 13-0 fourth-quarter run by the Raptors' reserves put Toronto ahead 100-99 with 7:08 to play. Okorie, 19, did not check in until the fourth quarter and scored all 14 of his points in the period on 4-of-4 shooting, hitting two free throws with 45.6 seconds left to stretch the lead to 125-119 and icing the game at the line in the final seconds. Raptors guard Nimari Burnett hit a corner 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left to cut the margin to 125-124, but Toronto could not complete the comeback.
Detroit opens the regular season at home against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Oct. 20. (GSM, based on reporting by the Detroit Free Press)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：本场比赛场地底特律小凯撒球馆外观。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（Ed from Queens 摄），CC BY 2.0。Photo: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, site of the game. Image: Ed from Queens via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
