Mason Plumlee posted his first career triple-double, and 6 Detroit Pistons scored 15 or more to help the Pistons top the New Orleans Pelicans at home, 123-112.
Plumlee’s triple-double was the first by a Piston since Greg Monroe’s in 2012. The Pistons were red hot from deep, shooting nearly 49% from three. Fifty-two bench points helped the Pistons score the second-most points in a single game all season.
Despite coming off a 2 game skid, the Pelicans have had incredible production from their 2 young stars. Brandon Ingram had scored 20 or more points in 7 straight games leading into the contest, shooting better than 40% from three during that stretch.
Zion Williamson joins Ingram in the starting front court for the Pelicans. Williamson is averaging more than 24 points per game, coming off a career-high 36 points in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Pistons rookie Saddiq Bey looked to improve upon a breakout game in a win over the Celtics 2 days prior. Bey went off for a career-high 30 points on 10-12 from the field, grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with it. Bey shot 7-7 from outside, the most made threes in a single game by a rookie without a miss in NBA history.
The Pistons had to rely on their depth, as they were without veteran forward Blake Griffin and second-year forward Sekou Doumbouya.
Ingram continued his stellar play early, scoring 12 points and dishing out 4 assists in just the first quarter. He helped lead the Pelicans to a 40-30 lead entering the second.
The Pelicans got hot in the first frame, shooting 79% from the field and 62% from three. They also held the Pistons to under 30% shooting from three, as no Piston hit double figures in the first quarter.
The second quarter was defined by runs, and came up all Pistons entering the break. A 9-2 run, including four of Dennis Smith Jr.’s 7 second quarter points, cut the Pistons’ deficit down to just 3 points.
The Pistons then used an 11-2 run to take a 2 point lead going into halftime.
The Pistons were led by their bench in the first half, putting up 25 bench points, outscoring the Pelicans bench by 11. Mason Plumlee’s 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists led the way for the Pistons. Josh Jackson’s 12 points off of the bench and Bey’s 11 points filled out the Piston’s double-digit scorers in the first half.
Williamson put up 18 points on 7-12 from the field, leading all scorers at half. Ingram went scoreless in the second quarter, joining his team in an ice-cold quarter. Going 0-8 from three did not help the Pelicans as they scored only 22 in the second frame.
Coming out of halftime was more of the same, as the Pistons pushed their lead to 8 points entering the fourth quarter. Ingram continued to stay cold, scoring only 3 points in the third quarter.
Jerami Grant emerged in the third, scoring 10 points and adding 2 assists. No other Piston scored more than 5 in the quarter, as an everyone-eats attitude helped the Pistons to a 33 point frame.
The Pistons also hit 5 threes in the quarter, pulling their percentage from beyond the arc up to 48.
The final frame saw Svi Mykhailiuk and Jackson score 9 and 7 points respectively to help close out the Pelicans at home. Jackson totaled 21 for the game, getting himself back into stride with now his 8th game scoring in double figures in a row.
Jackson told reporter Justin Rose “I thought we moved the ball really well and had a feel for each other’s game, if you look across the board, everyone had a solid game, it was great.”
Bey followed his career game by adding 16 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds, starting in the place of an injured Blake Griffin.
The skilled young Pelicans tandem of Williamson and Ingram ended the game with 26 each. Steven Adams’ double-double, and Lonzo Ball’s 13 points were not enough to top the Pistons’ balanced attack.
The Pistons have won 3 of their last 4 games and will face the San Antonio Spurs at home on Tuesday before heading out on a 5 game road trip that will certainly test their mettle.
The Pelicans losing streak now hits 3 games as they look to rebound against the struggling Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
