Ausar Thompson shines as Detroit Pistons slide by Thunder, 118-116, in preseason

For the second Thursday in a row, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Thunder on the road, though not in Oklahoma City.

Last week, it was in Montreal. This week, though, it was in Tulsa, Oklahoma: A strong second half allowed the Pistons to overcome a 14-point second-quarter deficit and pull away with a 118-116 preseason win at the BOK Center. They're now 2-1 in preseason and finish their slate Friday on the road against the Dallas Mavericks.

Rookie wing Ausar Thompson led the Pistons with a preseason-high 18 points (5-for-8 overall, 2-for-3 from 3, 6-for-8 at the line), and also tallied eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Fellow rookie Marcus Sasser had 16 points, and Cade Cunningham (14 points, six assists, six rebounds), Jaden Ivey (13 points), Jalen Duren (11 points, seven rebounds) and Isaiah Stewart (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring.

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The Thunder were led by Jalen Williams (20 points, five assists) and were without star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat out with a knee contusion. The Pistons were without Bojan Bogdanovic (right calf soreness) and Monte Morris (lower back tightness).

A strong defensive start helped the Pistons build an early 16-7 lead. The second unit failed to sustain Detroit’s hot start, and the Thunder led by 14 midway through the second quarter. But the bench finished strong. Joe Harris (nine points, 3-for-4 from 3) gave the Pistons the lead early in the fourth, 91-90, with his final 3-pointer of the night.

Both teams sat their starters in the fourth quarter. Sasser helped the Pistons pull away by scoring 15 of his 16 points in the period, including a stretch that saw him score nine straight to help Detroit build a 10-point lead midway through the fourth.

Hayes remains in starting lineup; Cunningham and Duren return

With Cunningham in street clothes last Thursday, head coach Monty Williams promoted Killian Hayes to the starting lineup. Williams clearly liked what he saw, because Hayes started again in Tulsa. He replaced Alec Burks, who started Detroit’s first two preseason games.

Detroit’s starting lineup (Cunningham-Hayes-Thompson-Isaiah Stewart-Duren) lacked spacing on paper, but the Pistons hit just enough 3-pointers to punish the Thunder for crowding the paint. They went 4-for-8 from 3 during the first quarter, which saw them lead by as many as nine and take a 27-23 lead into the second.

The Pistons played well whenever Detroit’s starters shared the floor on both sides. Cunningham, Thompson and Hayes took turns conducting the attack. Defensively, they held the Thunder to 8-for-22 shooting in the first. And they were able to whittle the deficit down to five at halftime, after the Thunder opened a 14-point lead against their second unit.

Slow starts had been an issue for the Pistons this preseason, but they took command early Thursday. Williams might’ve found a combination that works.

Thompson puts together best performance of preseason

Williams vowed not to overextend Thompson again after playing him for more than 38 minutes in Detroit’s preseason opener against Phoenix. After playing for 30 minutes in Montreal last week, Thompson was limited to just 22 on Thursday. The No. 5 overall pick in this summer's draft made the most of them.

Thompson got going early, hitting both of his 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Thunder left him wide open. He’s now 4-for-8 from 3 through three games, suggesting progress with his outside jumper since Summer League.

He was responsible for eight of Detroit’s first 11 points, tipping in his own missed layup and finding Hayes for a 3-pointer. And he might’ve been responsible for the highlight of the night, as Hayes later returned the favor to set Thompson up for a one-handed alley-oop dunk.

Thompson offers a lot to the starting unit as a defender, a secondary and tertiary passer and as a rebounder. He crashes the boards with his entire body and has now grabbed at least eight rebounders in all three preseason games. If he can also keep knocking down 3s, it’s tough to see him losing his hold on his starting position any time soon.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons take down Oklahoma City Thunder in preseason, 118-116