'Nobody played defense': Pistons allow 142 points in defeat against Mavericks

Detroit — The Pistons hosted the Dallas Mavericks and two of the most gifted scorers in the NBA on Saturday night.

Luka Doncic, one of the leading candidates for this season's MVP award, and his running mate Kyrie Irving used the full range of their offensive skill sets to propel the Mavericks to a 142-124 victory over the Pistons.

Pistons guard Cade Cunningham traded shot-for-shot with Doncic throughout the first half, but the dynamic shotmaking of Doncic and Irving was too much for the Pistons, especially without Ausar Thompson's defensive presence for most of the game.

Doncic exploded for a game-high 39 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists to help trounce the Pistons, who fell to 10-53 on the season. He became the first player in NBA history with five consecutive 35-point triple-doubles. Once Doncic grabbed his 10th rebound with 3:14 left, fans inside Little Caesars Arena erupted in cheers. Irving added 21 points, three rebounds and five assists.

When the Pistons tried their best to keep the ball out of Dallas' dynamic duo's hands, it created opportunities for the other Mavericks players. Tim Hardaway Jr., a former Michigan Wolverine, added 17 points off the bench. Daniel Gafford had 17 points and seven rebounds.

Cunningham scored 24 points in the first half of Saturday's game, but was limited to nine in the second half. He totaled 33 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists while shooting 11-of-21 from the field. Simone Fontecchio had the best scoring game of his young career with 27 points off the bench. Jaden Ivey scored 17 points with six rebounds and four assists.

BOX SCORE: Mavericks 142, Pistons 124

The Mavericks were the only team the Pistons hadn't faced this season and Pistons coach Monty Williams stressed the importance of limiting Doncic as much as possible, especially from the free-throw line. Doncic had 10 trips to the stripe and capitalized on nine of those freebies.

"We just couldn't score," Williams said. "I think we had seven turnovers in the third quarter. Nobody played defense. They didn't. We didn't — the whole game. We just turned it over in the third quarter. In the first half, they hit a lot of tough shots and we were in our schemes correctly. They hit tough shots over a smaller guy that was tagging at the rim."

Fontecchio couldn't miss to start the game. He began the game by knocking down his first three 3-point attempts, which included a desperation floater to beat the shot clock in the waning seconds of the first quarter. The second-year forward threw up three fingers on each hand to celebrate.

His first missed shot of the night came on what should have been an easy layup, created by the playmaking of Thompson. Fontecchio nailed four of his five 3-point attempts and knocked down all five of his free-throw attempts.

"It felt good, but I wanted to get a win," Fontecchio said of his career-high. "I wanted to get two wins in a row, especially now that we're home. I think we have to take advantage of that. I don't care much about my career high in scoring. As I said some other time, I want to do whatever it takes to help the team."

Thompson's time was limited on Saturday because of an illness that he's played through for the past two games. He was fatigued and winded throughout his 11 minutes of action. He exited the game at the 8:28 mark of the second quarter and did not return. He finished with four points and four rebounds on 1-of-7 shooting.

Thompson began the game defending Doncic and forced him into a couple of turnovers. Doncic committed four of his six turnovers in the first quarter.

"Definitely a lot," Fontecchio said when asked about the how Thompson's absence impacted the game. "I had to guard him after. (Thompson) is an elite defender and it was too bad that he had to leave. I hope it's nothing serious. I haven't had the chance to talk to him."

For the third consecutive game, Jalen Duren was required to take an early seat on the bench because of foul trouble. The second-year big man was whistled for his second personal foul less than four minutes into the game. Williams inserted backup center James Wiseman into the game.

Duren was visibly frustrated with the early whistles and threw a seating cushion once he sat on the bench. He picked up his fourth foul 16 seconds into the third quarter after committing an offensive foul. Wiseman made the most of his extended opportunity with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.

At the 7:03 mark of the fourth quarter, Duren was involved in a shoving match with Mavericks forward P.J. Washington. Duren appeared to commit a hard foul on Gafford — the foul was issued to Jaden Ivey — and Washington retaliated by pushing the Pistons center in the chest.

Duren returned the favor and the two had to be separated. Both players were issued technical fouls, but Duren received an additional technical and was ejected. He finished with six points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Detroit has split the first two games of its six-game home stand against teams jockeying for playoff position. It'll host the Charlotte Hornets — a team it has beaten twice this season — on Monday night.

The last time Doncic faced the Pistons on Jan. 30, 2023, he scored 53 points. He only needed 39 points this time, which is slightly above his 35.7 points career average against the Pistons. That mark is the highest scoring average by any individual opponent in Pistons franchise history.

The Pistons will meet the Mavericks once more in Dallas during the final trip of the season. The game is set for April 12 — two days before the regular season finale in San Antonio.

mcurtis@detroitnews.com

@MikeACurtis2