The Detroit Pistons clinched the Central Division title for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday. Now they are aiming to sew up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Detroit, which leads second-place Boston by four games in the East, can move closer to that goal when it hosts Minnesota on Thursday night.
Facing Toronto on Tuesday on short rest, the Pistons (55-21) pulled away to a 127-116 victory.
“We knew we were trying to do something special since this summer, since this core group has been together,” center Jalen Duren said. “Even last year we were just working, just grinding, just scratching stuff off our list. It’s great to accomplish things like that, but we obviously have our eyes on the playoffs and want to do some damage there.”
Duren had 31 points and nine rebounds after sitting out Monday’s overtime road loss to Oklahoma City. Contributions from two other starters who missed Monday’s game were also key against the Raptors. Duncan Robinson had 19 points, while Tobias Harris contributed 12 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Detroit looked like the fresher team even though the previous game — an overtime loss at Oklahoma City — didn’t end until after 12:30 a.m.
“It was going to be a tough one, right? The travel scenario wasn’t the best,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “By the time I got home, it was 4:45 (a.m.) this morning. So, I can imagine with the guys … trying to find how you get the sleep, to get the rest that you need for tonight. And then playing against a team like Toronto that plays physical and fast. But it speaks to, again, the resolve of this group, and their willingness to do whatever it takes, the mental toughness they have to fight through fatigue and all of those things, to go out and get a good win against a good team.”
The Pistons have gone 6-2 since franchise player Cade Cunningham was diagnosed with a collapsed lung. One of those wins came against the Timberwolves, a 109-87 road romp on Saturday. Minnesota bounced back by crunching lottery-bound Dallas, 124-94, on Monday.
Anthony Edwards played for the first time in seven games and scored 17 points in 23 minutes. He had been sidelined by a right knee injury.
“He was awesome,” coach Chris Finch said. “His defense was outstanding, just let the game come to him. Stayed aggressive, made quicker decisions. I thought he was really good. And things looked kind of easy for him as a result.”
Ayo Dosunmu had an even more impressive return after sitting out the previous two games. He recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists.
“He started the game great, just playing with great speed with patience, found Rudy (Gobert),” Finch said. “Loved his pursuit of the ball in rebounding, his hustle plays. Stayed in the flow. Everything was in the flow … Thought we played some of our best rhythm basketball for a while.”
Minnesota (46-29) needs only to hold off Phoenix to secure a berth in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. They lead the Suns by 4 1/2 games.
The Timberwolves have won five of their last seven contests.
