DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons have been playing short-handed for a good few weeks, but after an extended gap between games, three missing starters returned to the group.
While it was an uneasy night for a team recalibrating after not having its typical lineup, Duncan Robinson and Jaden Ivey stabilized the unit after going down by as much as 16 to the visiting Phoenix Suns.
Robinson led the team with 19 points, with Ivey posting 15 points off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting.
Tobias Harris added 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals while Jalen Duren had a 16-point, 18-rebound double-double in their returns from injury to help the Pistons squeak out a 108-105 win at Little Caesars Arena Thursday night.
The Pistons led with one of their sloppiest halves of basketball for the season. Returning from their respective ailments, Harris and Duren each got off to nice starts with baskets on their first touches of the night.
Robinson drained a shot from deep to give Detroit an early 11-3, but things slowed down drastically from there.
The Suns started getting shots to fall of a 1-of-8 start from the field as Grayson Allen posted 13 points in the opening quarter on the way to 33 for the night.
Ivey provided a spark off the bench, crossing up Ryan Dunn and sinking a jumper before hitting a pair of threes late in the first. He scored the final eight points of the period for Detroit, but it came as part of a 15-8 run for the Suns to take a 32-23 lead into the second.
Cade Cunningham’s struggles in his first game back from a wrist contusion defined a lot of the issues for Detroit as their star guard went 2-of-9 from the field in the first half with four turnovers.
The Pistons — coming off a four-day gap between games — looked out of sync for large portions of the half and accumulated 10 turnovers the Suns turned into 14 points.
In-bound plays were sloppy and the Suns were constantly getting their hands on passes and shots to disrupt Detroit’s offensive flow. The Suns had 17 combined steals and blocks in the first half, but only had six in the second.
The possession issues alongside a litany of extra fouls gave the Suns the pathway to go up as much as 16 points. Ausar Thompson was called for a flagrant foul on a “reckless closeout” and the Pistons were assessed three technical fouls in the half.
Phoenix had its own foul troubles as forward Dillon Brooks picked up four in the opening half, including his own flagrant after having the ball stripped away and dealing a hit to Ron Holland’s face.
Daniss Jenkins and Robinson led a late burst that allowed the Pistons to close the gap to 63-56 at halftime, despite Detroit’s offense shooting 43% from the field and looking mistake prone throughout.
Robinson kept his performance going in the second half, hitting an early three off an offensive rebound from a Cunningham missed free throw. Duren joined him and started to dominate down low with physical finishes at the rim for eight points in the period.
After not playing in the second quarter, Ivey returned in the third and drained a pair of jump shots to keep pushing the Pistons inches from the lead.
Detroit sat just one point behind going into the final quarter and quickly got itself level as Ivey responded to a Phoenix basket with a game-tying triple.
Harris sank a fadeaway jumper for the lead and the Pistons started to push out with a successful trip to the foul line for Isaiah Stewart and another tough jumper by Harris.
Despite a 3-of-16 finish from the field, Cunningham capped off an 11-assist performance by finding a late floater and hitting a foul shot that helped put Detroit ahead for good.
The Pistons made the night a bit more interesting by going 22-of-35 from the foul line and missing 6-of-10 foul shots attempted in the closing two minutes. But the Pistons avoided the late collapse and secured a sloppy but welcome victory.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Fphx-vs-det-0022500579%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The penultimate game of Detroit’s home stand will be Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons are 2-0 against the Pacers this season.