Detroit Pistons star Jalen Duren had the chance to win the game on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. However, the one-time All-Star missed the layup and the Pistons suffered a 130-129 overtime loss. It was the team’s first defeat since Cade Cunningham was diagnosed with a collapsed lung.
Duren has done a fantastic job leading the team without their best player. Against the Hawks, he had 26 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks on 60.0% shooting. Fortunately for the Pistons, they had a bounce-back win on Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans, 129-108.
The former Memphis standout had another dominant game with 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Duren was defensively active, with two steals and two blocks.
After the win, Duren expressed his thoughts on the Pistons’ loss. He admitted that it was an emotional event for the team, especially for himself.
“It’s tough,” Duren said. “I just — I wanted to win it, I want to win every game. It was an emotional loss, we fought back and didn’t go our way.
“It was an emotional loss…It’s about letting the game come to me.”
Jalen Duren speaks on the personal frustration from last night’s loss to the Hawks, as well as coming just three assists short of his first career triple-double vs. the Pelicans. #Pistons pic.twitter.com/LmuA0yjUCj— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) March 27, 2026
Duren also addressed his great game against the Pelicans.
“Tonight, [I] just wanted to come in, just keep the same energy. Come out strong, come out ready to play.”
Duren has taken over for the Pistons to lead the club and continue to be the top in the East after Cunningham’s health problem surfaced. However, he isn’t alone, as others like Ausar Thompson have helped him keep Detroit’s competitiveness.
Jalen Duren Had High Praise for Ausar Thompson
Thompson has played his role perfectly for the Pistons. He takes the job of defending the opposing team’s best player every game. Since Cunningham went down with his lung issues, the defensive guard has collected 16 steals. That includes the game where he had seven steals against the Golden State Warriors, to lead Detroit to a 115-101 victory.
Against the Pelicans, his defensive activity helped set the tone. Thompson had three steals and two blocks, leading his teammate to campaign for him as the potential winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“He’s [the] Defensive Player of the Year for sure,” Duren said. “What he does to ball handlers, harassing guys, getting through screens, it’s unreal. He does it every night and you get used to everything he does, where if he has a lapse it’s like ‘[Expletive], what happened?’”
Thompson’s defensive game was recognized by the league when he was awarded the Defensive Player of the Month award for January. It’s a challenging award since there’s a plethora of talented defenders around the NBA. However, the Pistons believe that he has the chance to win it this season.
Related: Final Injury Report for Pistons-Raptors: Will Tobias Harris, Ausar Thompson Play?
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
