Pistons vs Jazz final score: Cade breaks out of slump as Pistons notch rare win in Utah

Detroit has now won 10 of its past 11 games

Growing up during the Goin’ to Work days, I always found it fascinating that the Detroit Pistons never won in Utah.

The Utah Jazz were obviously good with John Stockton and Karl Malone, then again with Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, but the Pistons were great. Why is that the one place we never won?

The Pistons entered Monday night’s game in Utah with a 13-42 record all-time in Salt Lake City. Detroit last won there on Nov 23, 2022, but have lost four in a row to the Jazz since, including a loss at Little Caesars Arena in December.

None of that mattered this time as the Pistons jumped on the Jazz early and never let up, cruising to an easy 134-106 win.

While the Jazz were without starting forwards Lauri Markkanen and John Collins, the Pistons were without their starting power forward as Tobias Harris missed the game for personal reasons. Backup center Isaiah Stewart also sat with a back injury.

Didn’t matter.

Cade Cunningham looked like Cade again. After two lackluster nights, the All-Star guard scored 14 points in the first half and finished with 29 points, 9 assists and 4 steals, helping to spark the Pistons’ big first half that resulted in a 20-point lead at halftime.

The other standouts was Jalen Duren. The big man continued his dominant stretch, blocking 4 shots to go with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

There’s something that’s been unlocked with Duren lately. He’s playing like a brawnier Bam Adebayo, changing shots at the rim, playmaking from the high post and on dribble hand-offs and dunking the living hell out of everything:

And, for good measure, get a load of this defensive play:

What’s crazy about this is it’s not like Duren’s jump has been purely the fruits of offseason’s labor. This in-season improvement is extremely impressive. Three months ago, he was a bad defender. He was just a lob threat and rebounder.

This just adds another element to at team that is increasingly dangerous. I think we, as Pistons fans, are always a little cynical about things. I’m starting to wonder if this team might continue to get better as they approach the playoffs.

It honestly wasn’t something that I considered before February because it felt too ahead of schedule. Maybe we’re right on schedule now?

Malik Beasley was solid in his return to Utah, scoring 15 points and nailing 3 threes in a start for Tobias. I thought he was a little too aggressive against his former team — shown by his 3/14 showing from downtown — but if you want the best of Beasley, you have to be willing to accept the worst on nights like this.

Detroit took its foot off the gas late as a 29-point lead shrunk to 14 with 8:27 to go. It never got any closer as the starters steadied the ship late.