DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons took care of business exactly as they needed to.
Facing a last-place Indiana Pacers squad missing its top six scorers, the Pistons avoided any of the pitfalls of facing an undermanned roster and dominated Saturday night with a 121-78 victory at Little Caesars Arena.
The Pistons (30-10) have played in plenty of their own games without key playmakers and found ways to win, but didn’t let anyone from the Pacers (10-33) get hot as their defense put on one of their top performances in years.
Indiana’s 78 was the fewest points by an NBA team in a game this season and fewest allowed in a game by the Pistons since 2015. Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson and Javonte Green led the way with 16 points, each, despite the former two not playing in the fourth quarter.
Ten different Detroit players scored seven or more points on the night as they shot 50% from the field collectively while holding the Pacers to 35% from the field and 23% on three-pointers.
The Pistons had no trouble taking over the matchup, scoring the first nine points of the game and holding the Pacers to 1-of-11 shooting with five turnovers midway through the opening period.
After going 3-of-16 from the field in his first game back from injury on Thursday, Cunningham didn’t mess around with the ball in his hands. Cunningham made the first four shots he took and led the Pistons with 11 points in the first quarter.
Jalen Duren got involved with seven points of his own in the quarter, but it was the defensive dominance against the undermanned Pacers that put the Pistons in ideal position from the jump.
Detroit had three steals and blocks and held Indiana to 20% shooting from the field in the first quarter, only allowing 11 points in the period. With the Pacers also missing five foul shots, the Pistons took a commanding 20-point lead that they would only continue to build on.
Indiana’s shooting woes continued as they went on to an 0-for-16 start from deep before Jarace Walker mercifully hit one with three minutes left in the half.
Detroit’s offense wasn’t overwhelming in the quarter, but Duncan Robinson and Isaiah Stewart each posted seven points — while linking up on a crafty assist from Stewart — to help bolster the advantage.
At halftime, the Pistons held a lopsided 59-25 lead, just shy of the franchise record for fewest points allowed in a half — 23 points vs. the Washington Wizards on Nov. 29, 2003 and New York Knicks on Dec. 1, 2003. It was the first time since Game 1 of the 2004 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Nets that the Pistons held an opponent to 25 or fewer points in a half.
The Pacers found more stretches of success and avoided the Pistons establishing any new records, but Detroit still held them to their lowest point total as a franchise since 2018.
There was little reason the Pistons should’ve taken a loss to this Pacers squad. But while they continue making their case as one of the best teams in the NBA, taking care of any opponent in convincing fashion will be a plus.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Find-vs-det-0022500595%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The Pistons close out their six-game home stand against the Boston Celtics on Monday. Detroit is 2-1 in its three games against Boston so far this season.