OKLAHOMA CITY — After three quarters of stress-free cheering from Oklahoma City Thunder fans Wednesday, largely because of their team’s comfortable lead, the atmosphere at Paycom Center became tense.
The Detroit Pistons were cutting a 16-point Thunder lead to start the fourth quarter to four points with 6 minutes, 25 seconds remaining.
It seemed the Pistons were prepared for a late-game, back-and-forth, down-to-the-final-buzzer battle with one of the NBA’s all-time great regular-season teams, but the Pistons imploded in the final 3:55. They surrendered a 12-0 run to end the game as Oklahoma City beat Detroit 119-103.
The Pistons (42-34) will play their penultimate road game Friday against the Toronto Raptors before a four-game homestand. But before that game even tips off, the Pistons can clinch a playoff spot, their first since 2019, if the Orlando Magic lose to the Washington Wizards on Thursday. It would be quite a turnaround for a franchise that last season had an NBA record 28-game losing streak and won 14 games.
As for Wednesday night’s loss, an opponent’s massive run to end any game — regardless of whether a team is missing its starting point guard or lost its starting power forward midway through the game — can’t happen against championship-level teams.
Despite the sour finish, Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff noted that his young squad was up for the challenge.
“Those guys competed their tails off,” Bickerstaff said postgame of his team. “We were down multiple times and kept clawing our way back into the game. We had a couple of plays in that last 3:30 that just didn’t go our way. (We missed) a little bunny, we ended up getting the offensive foul, a couple turnovers — those types of things.
“It just didn’t go our way down the stretch. But to hold that team to 22 points in the fourth quarter, I thought we did a lot of great things defensively. Just didn’t have enough plays down the stretch offensively to get us over the hump.”
The Pistons could have mailed it in, considering they were without Cade Cunningham, their best player; Tobias Harris, a starter who exited the game with right Achilles tendinopathy and other rotational pieces in Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland II and Marcus Sasser, who were unable to play due to suspensions.
“We definitely missed every person we didn’t have today, but we have full belief in everybody who comes into the game,” Ausar Thompson said after the loss. “I know the players who didn’t play also believe the same thing.”
Instead, the Pistons, who did play, battled against the Thunder for the majority of the final frame. That is before the Thunder showed why they entered the game with 12 losses in 75 games.
As Bickerstaff mentioned, Detroit can build on the first half of its fourth-quarter defense. The offense stalled in the game’s final minutes, but they broke even with the Thunder to score 22 points in the quarter. Detroit held Oklahoma City to 35 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range, good for the Thunder’s worst field-goal percentage of any quarter in the game.
The Pistons began the fourth on a 14-5 run and forced Oklahoma City into tougher looks than it got for the better part of the evening.
“On the defensive end, we had to lock in,” Thompson said. “We started slow, I think they had 40 (points) in the first quarter. But in the fourth quarter, the first six minutes, they had five points and that’s when we came back.
“So, just knowing our identity as a defensive team and taking that forward. Now we know. I mean, we knew before, but it’s good to have a reminder.”
Thompson, Detroit’s most versatile defender, finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks. His steals and blocks were both good for team highs.
However, the Pistons can point to the first six minutes of the fourth where they got within four points, as an example of their grit and reluctance to give in against superior opponents. Especially considering the postseason is now six games away.
Additionally, the minutes with Dennis Schröder as the lead guard have granted him extended time and reps to develop chemistry with his teammates. That will be necessary for the Pistons during the postseason when teams are fixated on nullifying Cunningham’s impact.
Oklahoma City shot a scorching 65.2 percent in the first quarter with eight assists and only one turnover. The Thunder also went 9-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line during the first.
Schröder, like Thompson, was a key component of Detroit’s late-game success. Statistically, Schröder didn’t have his greatest game. He registered 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, a game-high seven assists and four rebounds. But time and time again, he took care of the ball and got the Pistons into sets that could have produced points.
Making it happen https://t.co/FDJ5hXqJ5l pic.twitter.com/chJFWvxisv
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 3, 2025
The 12-year veteran is averaging 13.2 points, 7.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds during his five starts with Cunningham sidelined. Schröder’s sure-handedness with the ball, which was on display Wednesday in the fourth, was impressive. He has 39 assists and five turnovers since starting in those five games for a 7.8:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Schröder’s ability to create plays while valuing possessions and avoiding turnovers is a skill that will be invaluable as the game slows during the playoffs. Even beyond his ball security, Schröder can bestow a wealth of postseason knowledge upon a group that is inexperienced in the playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot of young cats in the locker room,” Schröder said. “It’s always great to give back. Twelve years into the NBA now, you’ve seen a lot. You can help those people who have been here two years, three years, to avoid some of the things you did.
“To be better, to learn faster, learn quicker. It’s great that we’ve got Tobias, Tim Hardaway, (Malik) Beasley and myself. We’ve got people who are trying to do the right things for their teammates.”
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(Photo: David Sherman / NBAE via Getty Images)