Jenkins, Randle power Detroit past Minnesota in a frantic fourth

Detroit never really separates from Minnesota until the fourth quarter, but when it does, the Pistons make it count. In a game that swings back and forth all night, Detroit finishes with a 113-108 win behind Daniss Jenkins’ 26 points and eight assists, Julius Randle’s efficient 27-point night, and a huge interior presence from Jalen Duren, who posts 22 points and 14 rebounds. The Pistons’ biggest lead of the night is only 11, yet that brief cushion proves decisive in a game defined by 19 lead changes and constant pressure possessions.

The first half plays like a coin flip. Minnesota edges the opening frame 31-30, then both teams settle into a track meet through the second quarter, with the score knotted 54-54 at the break. Detroit starts to find a little momentum early in the second when Caris LeVert puts together an 8-point run for the home side, capped by a driving finger roll that pushes the Pistons from trailing 31-30 to leading 37-31. But Minnesota keeps answering, and the game never fully tilts one way for long. Every mini-run gets a response, every stop seems temporary, and the scoreboard stays right where it was in the opening minutes: too close to call.

That pattern continues through the third. Minnesota briefly claims its largest lead at seven, but Detroit keeps chipping away, and by the end of the period the Pistons have nudged in front 80-79. It’s not a comfortable advantage — just enough to set up the fourth quarter — but it feels meaningful because Detroit is finally controlling the rhythm. Randle begins to assert himself in space, Duren keeps winning possessions on the glass, and Jenkins starts taking over as a shot creator. The Pistons aren’t blowing Minnesota off the floor; they’re winning the little battles that keep a close game from slipping away.

Then comes the turning point. With Detroit clinging to an 85-89 deficit early in the fourth, the Pistons rip off a 13-0 run that flips the entire night. The sequence is capped by an A. Thompson running alley-oop dunk off a D. Robinson assist, a play that feels like a jolt of electricity through the building. Suddenly, the Pistons have gone from chasing to controlling, and the lead jumps to 96-89. That burst changes the geometry of the game. Minnesota is still within striking distance, but now it has to attack a set defense after every miss instead of running freely in a one-possession grind.

Detroit keeps answering every mini-push from there. Jenkins drains a 16-foot pullup at 2:30 to make it 105-94, then after N. Reid briefly cuts into the margin with a pullup three, Jenkins responds again with a 13-foot bank shot to push it back to 107-99. Minnesota makes one more run, trimming it to 107-101, but the Pistons’ late possessions stay composed. A. Dosunmu gets downhill for a layup at 1:09, then later buries a driving finger roll with 17.3 seconds left and another at 3.8 seconds to help seal it. Even the final defensive stand matters, with Dosunmu blocking a shot and J. Duren and K. Anderson registering steals in the closing stretch as Detroit closes out a game it had to earn possession by possession.

The numbers tell the story of a balanced, hard-earned win: Randle shoots 60 percent and finishes with 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists; Jenkins adds 26, five boards, and eight dimes; Duren dominates the paint with 22 and 14. But the feel of the game comes from how Detroit absorbed Minnesota’s punches and delivered a cleaner final stretch. With a win like this, the Pistons strengthen their position in the race and show they can survive in the kind of tight, late-game possession battle that usually decides playoff games.