Michigan State University students and Lansing-area fans showed up to watch the Detroit Pistons take on the Phoenix Suns in a preseason game at the Breslin Center on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
The Detroit Pistons lost 105-97 in what was a poor shooting night for them. The team shot 41% from the floor and turned the ball over 20 times which led to 23 points off turnovers.
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The Suns got off to a hot start behind the stellar play of Kevin Durant who led the team with 21 points.
The Pistons offense played solid through the first two quarters. Despite Cade Cunningham just going 1-6 from the floor, the offense ran efficiently through him as he got his teammates involved with 8 assists in only the first half.
Jalen Duren led the Pistons scorers with 17 points while Jaden Ivey scored 16 points. Duren was a dominant presence in the interior and was the beneficiary of great ball movement. Ivey found success aggressively attacking the rim and finding open teammates as the defense collapsed.
“He works his tail off and he is playing with confidence,” said Pistons Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Ivey. “I think when you work as hard as he does or put as much time in as he does the work is going to pay off. Obviously, he is an extremely gifted basketball player so if he continues to put that mindset with that work ethic, he is only going to keep getting better.”
Overall, the Pistons hung in the game through the first half but Cunningham was taken out of the lineup in the second half. Ivey and Duren were taken out near the end of the third quarter and that’s when the game started to get away from the Pistons.
The Pistons were unable to score effectively in the third quarter, scoring only 20 points.
The Pistons bench cut the lead to single digits and outscored the Suns in the fourth quarter 31-21 but ultimately fell short.
“We got a little stagnant,” said Bickerstaff. “They did a really good job at shrinking the floor and making us play iso basketball. We just have to be better at making a read. Every night teams are going to guard you differently and tonight was a night where we had to make the simple pass a little bit more to create more movement. I thought they did a good job at really crowding us and we need to get better at that.”
Despite the Pistons’ loss, the crowd was energized throughout with students wearing Purple ‘Sunzzone’ shirts which is a play on the MSU basketball student section called the ‘Izzone.’
Ivey, who is a former Purdue Boilermaker said the energy of the crowd reminded him of his own college matchups against Michigan State.
“It felt like a Big Ten matchup tonight with the atmosphere,” said Ivey. “It’s crazy, I played twice here in my college career and only won once here. It’s a tough place to play. It was great to be back in the Big Ten. Tonight, it was kind of rowdy. They had the Suns shirts on, it was kind of rowdy, but that is what you expect in the Big Ten atmosphere. “
Both Pistons owner Tom Gores and Suns owner Mat Ishbia are Michigan State University Alumni.
The Pistons will travel to Phoenix for its next preseason game on Friday Oct. 11.
J.B. Bickerstaff Postgame Interview:
Jaden Ivey Postgame Interview: