A Sense of Doubt blog post #3962 - Pistons Win!! 23-6, and I watched!! Attended Moda Center Pistons-Trailblazers on Monday December 22, 2025

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3962 - Pistons Win!! 23-6, and I watched!! Attended Moda Center Pistons-Trailblazers on Monday December 22, 2025

I went to a game with a friend at the MODA Center and watched the Pistons win!

Though they nearly blew it. They blew a 21 point lead and Cade fouled out way too early.

Early Christmas present.

Thanks for tuning in!!

https://www.freep.com/picture-gallery/sports/nba/pistons/2025/12/23/detroit-pistons-start-west-coast-run-vs-portland-trail-blazers/87891695007/

Detroit Pistons start West Coast run with win vs Trail Blazers

Updated Dec. 23, 2025, 9:21 a.m. ET

Detroit Pistons guard Caris Levert (8) drives to the basket during the second half against Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.

Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2025/12/23/detroit-pistons-game-score-recap-portland-trail-blazers-jalen-duren/87891487007/

Jalen Duren drops double-double as Pistons open holiday trip with win

PORTLAND, OR — With under four minutes to go in the third quarter, the Detroit Pistons led by 21 points and were on track to begin a five-game West Coast swing with a commanding win.

But a big Portland Trail Blazers run followed, and the Pistons needed clutch shots from Tobias Harris and Ausar Thompson in the final two minutes to hang onto the win. The Pistons held on to defeat the Blazers, 110-102, at Moda Center after closing the final period with an 11-2 run.

The Blazers went on a 31-9 run after the Pistons took their 21-point lead, 90-69, late in the third. A 3-pointer from Deni Avdija (18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds) gave Portland its first and only lead of the night, 100-99, with 4:12 left in the game. At that point, the Pistons had been outscored 22-4 in the fourth quarter.

The Pistons closed the win out without Cade Cunningham, who fouled out with less than nine minutes left. Jalen Duren led them with 26 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Ausar Thompson added 18 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, and Duncan Robinson had 15 points. They were without Ron Holland, who missed his first game of the season with left knee soreness.

After losing the lead, Tobias Harris (12 points) knocked down a pair of free throws and Thompson came up with a steal and fastbreak dunk to regain control. Duren followed with an offensive rebound and layup, and Harris' midrange jumper at the 1:53 mark pushed the lead to six, 107-101.

With a minute to play, a putback dunk by Thompson extended the lead to 109-102, a dagger to finish it.

The win sent the Pistons to 23-6, the second-best 29-game start in franchise history (behind only the 2005-06 Pistons who opened 25-4 before fizzling out in the Eastern Conference finals). Next up, the Pistons head to Sacramento, California, for the second half of a back-to-back, facing the Kings on Tuesday (10 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).

Cunningham fouls out as tide shifts in second half

At halftime, the Pistons' superstar had zero fouls. But Cunningham fouled out with 8:32 remaining in the game — and picked up a technical foul on his way to the bench — giving him six in just 9:07 on the court. He picked up back-to-back fouls early in the third quarter, the second leading to a 3-point play for Sharpe on a fastbreak dunk. A reach-in foul put him at five fouls with 3:28 left in the third, and he fouled out after pushing off on Blazers forward Sidy Cissoko.

The Blazers' late run started after Cunningham's fifth foul. They had full momentum by the time Cunningham fouled out. The technical free throw extended Portland's run to 20-7, and a pair of free throws from Donovan Clingan cut their lead to six, 97-91, with 8:18 remaining.

The Pistons were stuck at four points scored in the fourth quarter until after the Blazers took the lead for the first and only time, 100-99, at the 4:12 mark. A pair of free throws from Harris broke their cold stretch and gave them the lead for good with under four minutes left.

Ivey shines in first half

After missing 11 months of basketball, Ivey has spent the past month simultaneously searching for a rhythm and figuring out his role on the team. He has had good and bad moments since making his season debut a month ago on Nov. 22. His second quarter against the Blazers was one of his best sustained stretches of basketball thus far, on both ends.

Ivey led the Pistons with seven points and two steals in the second period, and finished the night with 11 points. A corner 3-pointer gave the team a nine-point lead with under four minutes to play until halftime, and a steal and fastbreak layup at the 2:12 mark extended their lead to 58-42, their biggest of the first half. He also made sharp defensive rotations and had the final shot contest on a late 24-second violation by the Blazers. Ivey finished the half with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2025/12/23/detroit-pistons-know-depth-discipline-key-on-extended-western-trip/87892482007/

Detroit Pistons know depth, discipline key on extended Western trip

PORTLAND, OR — Before the Detroit Pistons officially tipped off their five-game West Coast road trip on Monday, Dec. 22, against the Portland Trail Blazers, coach J.B. Bickerstaff laid out their keys to success. Namely, sticking to a routine and staying sharp, both physically and mentally.

So far, so good. The Pistons opened the trip with a 110-102 win over the Blazers at Moda Center to improve to 23-6. It's the franchise's second-best start through 29 games, behind only the 2005-06 squad that started 25-4 before reaching the Eastern Conference finals.

But it wasn't easy, as they unraveled late Monday and gave up a 21-point lead before rallying with a late run. It served as a wake-up call as they embark on a long holiday swing that'll keep them on the road for the rest of 2025.

After the Pistons tied their biggest lead of the night, 90-69, with under four minutes left in the third quarter. Portland opened the fourth with a 22-4 run (as part of an overall 31-9 run) to briefly take the lead, 100-99.

In that stretch, Bickerstaff picked up a technical foul after arguing with officials following a challenge by Portland, which rescinded a defensive foul called on Donovan Clingan. Then, Cade Cunningham fouled out after the Blazers cut their lead to nine, 97-88, with 8:32 to go. Cunningham also picked up a technical foul on his way to the bench, adding more fuel to Portland's run.

After entering halftime with zero fouls, Cunningham picked up six in the second half – not counting the tech – in just over nine minutes of play.

"It was discipline on our part, myself included," Bickerstaff said of Portland's late run. "Making sure, again, that we toe the line, that we stay focused on the task at hand. I felt like we got away from that. That’s my responsibility to hold them to it but also act according. We’ve gotta do a better job of that. Give our guys a ton of credit down the stretch.

"So many guys made so many plays for us. Tobias [Harris'] poise, out there helping [Ausar Thompson] with the steals, his boards, [Jalen Duren] with a huge offensive rebound. We had so many guys that helped us close that game out. It speaks to the depth and the collective of this team."

A past version of this Pistons team might've lost the game. But with Cunningham on the bench, they were able to re-focus and close the game with an 11-2 run. Thompson, Harris and Duren each had four points in the final period, during which they shot 6-for-24 overall as a team and were outscored by 24-15 after winning the first there quarters.

The 12-17 Blazers couldn't string together enough possessions late to hold on. They missed five free throws in the final period, with four of the misses coming in the final 3:16. It was a close escape for the Pistons, who then headed to Sacramento, California, on Tuesday to face the Kings on the second night of a back-to-back.

"I thought that fifth foul was a foul that he could’ve done without," Bickerstaff said of Cunningham. "He’s done so much and did so much tonight to help get us to that lead. It’s just our responsibility, he and I as leaders of this team, to be more disciplined down the stretch."

The Pistons initially learned how to maintain discipline on the road almost exactly a year ago during a different West Coast trip. From Dec. 23-26, 2024, they defeated the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, to puck up ther first three-game winning streak of the season. It set the tone for the rest of the year, as they finished 33-21 after entering the Suns game at 11-17.

A year later, they're on top of the Eastern Conference and establishing themselves as a contender. This trip is an opportunity for them to put an exclamation point on the season leading into 2026. The key? Staying disciplined and making sure their issues Monday were an outlier.

"Same approach," Duren said. "Detroit Basketball travels. We’re going to keep the same energy we would have if we were home. It’s family time, people got their families around, it’s Christmas time, whatever. The main thing is still the main thing. We’re all focused on that and we’re all focused on winning the road trip."

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2512.23 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3826 days ago & DAD = 481 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.