Jalen Duren returns to form in Pistons win; looks to redeem Wingstop offer: 'I'm coming to get my wings'

Detroit — Jalen Duren collapsed to the floor after the final buzzer sounded and threw his fists down against the court to celebrate the end of a horrific losing streak.

The Pistons center, along with his teammates, had endured a seemingly endless stretch of difficult losses, but the fulfilling moment that comes with winning permeated through the atmosphere of Little Caesars Arena once again on Saturday night.

Duren played an integral part in helping the Pistons win their first game in more than two months. He dominated the paint with a double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds in Detroit's 129-127 win over the shorthanded Toronto Raptors.

Each Pistons player was gifted with a personalized blue and white boombox at the beginning of the season. Most of the players store their stereos inside their locker, and music could be heard outside of the home locker room for the first time since their last win, on Oct. 28. The orchestrator of the melodic vibe was Duren, who had Ja Rule's "Caught Up" blaring from his stereo before he answered questions about the rare victory.

"The message is still, 'Enjoy this, but we're not done yet,'" Duren said after the game. "The record is still ugly. We got a lot of things to fix, but it just feels good to get that monkey off of our backs."

Duren was the beneficiary of several easy finishes on Saturday night. He threw down powerful two-handed dunks and tied his season-high in rebounds against a thin Raptors frontcourt. It was his third game back since returning from a two-week break to recover from another ankle injury, but his explosiveness was apparent throughout the contest. Duren picked up two early fouls, but remained disciplined enough to avoid any more until the final quarter, when he added three more to finish on the brink of disqualification.

It's been a promising last six games for Duren, dating back to Nov. 30 against the New York Knicks, and his numbers have placed him in a class of his own. He's averaged 14.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 69% shooting from the field during that time, becoming the first Pistons player with such averages over a six-game span in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55).

Duren's latest success, which was reminiscent of his assertive start to the season, could be attributed to the braces he wears on his ankles during practice and games, to help avoid any further injuries. He admits his absence of 15 games due to injury had a negative impact on the team.

"It's huge. Those injuries, man," Duren said. "That's the first time I've had to deal with something like that in my life, just not being able to be out there and fight with my team. I missed so many games, and I feel like that's what hurt us."

Cade Cunningham, who was the first to embrace Duren at midcourt after the win, lauded his big man for leading the charge inside the paint.

"He was huge for us," Cunningham said. "It felt like he had his double-double early. His presence is huge for us. He does so many things. He's going to continue to do that for us and we love to have him. It's so easy to play with him. It's fun, man."

Shortly after the Pistons lost their 20th consecutive game to the Indiana Pacers, on Dec. 11, a promotional offer was created by Wingstop, the popular chain restaurant, which promised five free boneless wings at select Detroit locations when the team prevailed with a win.

The longer the streak went, the longer fans were deprived of their free meal. On Saturday, that deal was officially activated and even Duren wanted to capitalize on the offer.

"Aye @wingstop, I'm coming to get my wings," Duren wrote on his Instagram story.

A noteworthy observation from Saturday's game was the fact that Duren was perfect from the free-throw line for the second time this season after making all six of his attempts from the stripe. Four of those free throws were during clutch time, as he drilled them within the final minute of the game, while the Raptors rallied in their comeback attempt.

As Duren stepped to the free-throw line with 44.8 seconds left, fans inside Little Caesars Arena started a "Let's go, Pistons!" chant to encourage their squad to finish the game strong. It was the complete opposite of the defiant "Sell the team!" chants the fanbase sent to owner Tom Gores in the last two Pistons home games. Duren, who has knocked down 11 of his last 12 attempts from the line, sank both.

"We ain't about to lose this one. Not this one. Not because of me," Duren said, "but I'm just confident in my work."

Duren was also asked about the fans' chants after the game by Bally Sports sideline reporter Natalie Kerwin.

"S**t, it felt better than 'Sell the team!'" Duren said. "I'm just happy that they still support us, happy that they stayed with us through everything. Like I said, we ain't done nothing yet. We're just happy to get that monkey off our back."

It's just one win, with 50 games remaining in the season, but Duren's ability to figuratively eat on the court will give Pistons fans — and even himself — an opportunity to eat a free meal away from it.

Pistons add new assistant coach

It's been a little over a week since Pistons owner Tom Gores vowed that changes were coming to the organization.

The first domino has officially dropped, as Monty Williams has added Brian Adams as an assistant coach, league sources confirmed to The Detroit News on Sunday morning.

Adams previously served as the head coach of the Taipei Taishin Mars of Taiwan's T1 league since September. The team announced his resignation on Sunday. Before his brief stint in Taiwan, Adams spent the last nine seasons under Doc Rivers with the Philadelphia 76ers and LA Clippers, including two years in 2018-20 as the coach of LA's G League affiliate, the Ontario Clippers.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report Adams' hiring.

The decision to hire Adams comes in the wake of the absence of Pistons assistant Dan Burke, who has been away from the team since Oct. 30 due to a "personal matter."

Adams is expected to join the team during their four-game western road trip, beginning Monday at Houston, Wojnarowski reports.

Pistons at Rockets

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Monday, Toyota Center, Houston

TV/radio: BSD/97.1

The Pistons are coming off their first win in over two months after Saturday's 129-127 victory over the Toronto Raptors. They'll embark on a four-game west coast road trip with matchups against Houston, Utah, Golden State and Denver. Adams is expected to join the team during that stint, Wojnarowski reports.

mcurtis@detroitnews.com

@MikeACurtis2