Detroit Pistons stymie big night from Zach LaVine, beat Chicago Bulls 118-102

Zach LaVine did his best to spoil the Detroit Pistons' home opener, scoring 51 points and hitting nearly 60% of his shots.

It wasn't nearly enough. The Pistons cruised to a 118-102 win in front of a raucous crowd at Little Caesars Arena Saturday night, stifling the (non-LaVine) Bulls offensively while putting on an offensive show themselves. They shot 52.3% while holding Chicago to 41.9%.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 25 points and 10 assists, and Jalen Duren had another monster double-double with 23 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Alec Burks (18 points, 6-for-10 from 3) and Isaiah Stewart (14 points, nine rebounds) also reached double-figures, and Ausar Thompson tallied nine points and 12 rebounds.

Cunningham bounces back

After lighting up NBA (and Pistons) Twitter with a standout performance against the Miami Heat in Detroit’s season opener, Cunningham came back down to Earth on Friday. The Charlotte Hornets trapped him throughout the night and played physical defense, and he finished the night with 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting, six assists and six fouls.

He looked more like the Wednesday version of himself in Detroit’s home opener, scoring 16 of his 25 points in the third quarter to help the Pistons build enough of a cushion to pull away. In addition to his usual mix of stepback jumpers, he also did something he hasn’t done much of in his career — consistently get to the line. He had three and-1 opportunities over the course of the night and finished with seven free throw attempts. He entered the game with just two through two games.

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Cunningham also, once again, was Detroit’s best playmaker — with a few exceptions. Back-to-back turnovers in the fourth allowed the Bulls to cut the lead to six with eight minutes to go. But a slick entry pass to Stewart led to a layup through contact for the big man. He missed the free throw, but it extended Detroit’s lead to 105-91 with just over five minutes remaining.

Through three games, Cunningham has 14 turnovers. He’s been prone to making sloppy mistakes with the ball, and it’s a negative on what’s otherwise been an encouraging start to the season.

Duren continues double-double streak

The second-year big man could be in the early stages of a breakout season. Duren has grabbed at least 14 rebounds in all three games thus far. That, with his improved defensive and passing instincts, has made him one of Detroit’s most effective players thus far.

Beyond his standard putback dunks and tipped-in layups, Duren also showcased his vision and hustle against the Bulls. Early in the first, he perfectly placed an entry pass to Stewart over the top of Chicago’s defense for a layup. And shortly after halftime, he failed to get hold of an offensive rebound but made a heads-up play by bouncing it off of Nikola Vucevic while falling out of bounds.

Duren’s 21 points were a season-high. The 19-year-old has made noticeable strides since his rookie season. His alley-oop dunk with just over a minute left pushed Detroit’s lead to a game-high 16, a fitting end to a strong two-way performance by him and his teammates.

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Detroit’s defense shines, again

LaVine would’ve had his way with any defense in the NBA Saturday night. Every shot he attempted seemed destined to go in. But beyond his standout night, the Bulls weren’t great offensively.

The Pistons held them to 40.4% shooting in the first half despite LaVine shooting 59.4%. Thompson did a good job pestering DeMar DeRozan, who had just eight points at the time. Vucevic struggled to find space in the paint.

All three of Detroit’s opponents have scored fewer than 104 points. In today’s NBA, that’s as good a start as a team can hope for.

MUST LISTEN: Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem joined 'The Pistons Pulse'  podcast this week to address the state of the team and its future. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Despite big night from Zach LaVine, Detroit Pistons beat Bulls 118-102