DFG: Detroit Pistons beat the Atlanta Hawks - 2/23/25
Scores soared, but the Pistons put more on the board, 148-143
Welcome to DROP, FLOP, & GYATT! Your source for fun and insightful post-game recaps highlighting moments that make you pump your fist, shake your head, and say, “Gyatt damn!”
Break out your Fitbit and monitor your heart rate, because every time Detroit and Atlanta face off it’s a thriller to the final buzzer. In a battle of All-Star guards, Trae Young and Cade Cunningham put up 38 points apiece, Cade proved his King of the Monsters status with 12 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal, and only 3 TOs to Ice Trae’s 7. Even when they were sending full court double-teams on Cade, he was still able to elude them and find Jalen Duren who would either score or find Ausar Thompson to score for him, and yes, JD had another 5+ assist game. Both squads had supporting casts drilling from distance, with George gosh dang Niang and Zaccharie Risacher hitting 7 and 4 respectively, and Timmy Too Hot Hardaway Jr and Malik the Shimmy Freak Beasley knocking down 6 each. Dyson Daniels was straight thievin, but he was balanced out with AT’s swath of steals, even in limited minutes do to foul trouble. The early fouls on Detroit had the defense playing a little too timidly, but Detroit’s offense (despite getting nearly doubled at the free throw line) just overwhelmed the Hawks, scoring their most points in regulation in 41 years, giving the Pistons a 3-1 series lead on the season, and their first 6 game winning streak in a decade WHAT!?!?! HOW????
DROP
If a first half performance could be captured in a painting, Cade Cunningham dropped the equivalent of the Sistine Chapel’s “The Creation of David” on Atlanta. It may have been a night like any other night, but Trae got cute and nutmeg’d him early. Mr. Young, what have you done? You’ve awoken beast and have become the feast. Cade drove.
He dished.
He nailed 3s from deep.
So deep.
So DEEP.
So deep it put their butts to sleep.
In the first half, Deuce had 29 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, a block, shot 6-8 from deep, and only a single turnover. Did I mention he only got to take 1 free throw, and that was from a defensive 3 in the key. Ooh gah damn, who dat man? He was just 2 points shy of the most points by a Piston scored in a half in history. We’ve got a real (and ethical) one, folks.
FLOP
Now for the not so ethical. Trae Young had 15 FTA himself and he tried to sneak his way into a couple more with the game on the line. Unfortunately for him, he was being hounded by Beef Stew, a defensive mastermind with an appetite for trips to swat city. But wee Trae knew the refs love his theatrics and went up for a layup under the bucket and drew contact and the whistle. However, J.B. Bickerstaff had - unusually for him - held onto his challenge until this particular point in the game and said get that soft s*** outta here, forcing a review.
And pray, what did we find? Just Trae throwing his elbow into Stew’s jaw and then screaming like he had been assaulted. It was too obvious not to call folly and the challenge was successful, resulting in Detroit’s ball, and ending Atlanta’s last real shot at tying it up. Bye bye, birdie.
GYATT!
Now the GYATT! coulda been this Duren dunk.
Or this Ron ohmygHolland jam.
But with the game on the line, down by a point, Atlanta heavily harrasin Cade, no heroic moment was bigger than this driving and-1 finish by the newest Piston in the punch, Dennis Schröder.
Dennis in da clutch, thank you very much!
The Don’t Look Now Detroit Pistons now have 31 wins on the season, as many as they had the last two seasons COMBINED. They’re sitting nicely at 6th in the East, as the Pacers and the Bucks keep hanging on in close games to keep Detroit at bay. But this game was a masterpiece by Cade, who is probably still sizzlin’.
It added more fuel to the fire for the Ausar and Duren tandem fandom.
It was the proof of concept Dennis Schröder game (look out potential play-off matchups).
And it was a homecoming showcase for Malik Beasley, and if you don’t like it you can shut yo’ mothaf***in ass UP!
The Pistons now have a 4 game stretch at home, but the first 3 matchups are against stellar opponents (Clippers, Celtics, Nuggets) before closing it out against the Nets. Will the win streak continue, and if so how far? Let us know what you think in the comments!
Post Script Shout Out: Duren’s playmaking (5+ assists in 6 straight games), is proving to be a serious difference maker.
Not only is it allowing him and Ausar to play on the floor at the same time, THRIVING no less, but in the game tonight, when Cade was getting double-teamed, Duren’s vision and passing hurt opposing defenses. This skillset is proving to be potentially be more beneficial to the team than, say, a stretch big.