WhyTheyWon
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FINALOct 14Target Center
Detroit Pistons logo
DETDetroit Pistons
128Winner
Minnesota Timberwolves logo
MINMinnesota Timberwolves
106
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4Final
DET29363231128
MIN38202424106

The Breakdown

Why Pistons Won

Key factorPaint Dominance

Detroit's Paint Dominance and Shooting Turn the Game Around

Detroit won by shooting 57% from the field to Minnesota's 38% while overwhelming the Timberwolves 64-30 in paint scoring. After trailing 38-29 after the first quarter, Detroit flipped the game with a 36-20 second quarter, including a late 10-0 run that turned a 56-53 deficit into a 63-56 lead Minnesota never erased. Jalen Duren led Detroit with 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while Cade Cunningham added 14 points and 9 assists. Detroit also won the rebounding battle 45-34 and shot 44% from three to Minnesota's 32%, while both teams committed 20 turnovers.

Game flow

When the lead changed

DETMIN

DET led by as many as 26 · MIN led by as many as 10 · 12 lead changes

-300+30Q1 11:45 · DET 2–MIN 0Q1 11:22 · DET 2–MIN 2Q1 11:08 · DET 4–MIN 2Q1 10:48 · DET 6–MIN 2Q1 10:34 · DET 6–MIN 4Q1 10:15 · DET 8–MIN 4Q1 10:06 · DET 8–MIN 5Q1 10:06 · DET 8–MIN 6Q1 9:35 · DET 8–MIN 7Q1 9:35 · DET 8–MIN 8Q1 9:10 · DET 8–MIN 10Q1 8:57 · DET 10–MIN 10Q1 8:17 · DET 10–MIN 13Q1 8:00 · DET 12–MIN 13Q1 7:34 · DET 14–MIN 13Q1 7:21 · DET 14–MIN 14Q1 7:21 · DET 14–MIN 15Q1 7:06 · DET 16–MIN 15Q1 6:51 · DET 16–MIN 16Q1 6:51 · DET 16–MIN 17Q1 6:32 · DET 18–MIN 17Q1 6:20 · DET 18–MIN 18Q1 5:51 · DET 18–MIN 21Q1 5:29 · DET 20–MIN 21Q1 4:57 · DET 20–MIN 22Q1 4:57 · DET 20–MIN 23Q1 4:42 · DET 21–MIN 23Q1 4:42 · DET 22–MIN 23Q1 4:29 · DET 22–MIN 25Q1 4:11 · DET 22–MIN 26Q1 4:11 · DET 22–MIN 27Q1 3:48 · DET 22–MIN 28Q1 3:48 · DET 22–MIN 29Q1 3:37 · DET 24–MIN 29Q1 2:40 · DET 25–MIN 29Q1 2:23 · DET 25–MIN 31Q1 1:50 · DET 26–MIN 31Q1 1:50 · DET 27–MIN 31Q1 1:24 · DET 27–MIN 33Q1 1:12 · DET 27–MIN 36Q2 12:00 · DET 29–MIN 38Q2 11:20 · DET 31–MIN 38Q2 10:16 · DET 31–MIN 41Q2 9:59 · DET 34–MIN 41Q2 7:45 · DET 35–MIN 41Q2 7:29 · DET 37–MIN 41Q2 7:09 · DET 37–MIN 43Q2 6:34 · DET 37–MIN 46Q2 6:17 · DET 40–MIN 46Q2 6:00 · DET 40–MIN 48Q2 5:50 · DET 41–MIN 48Q2 5:50 · DET 42–MIN 48Q2 5:24 · DET 45–MIN 48Q2 4:55 · DET 47–MIN 48Q2 4:21 · DET 49–MIN 48Q2 4:03 · DET 49–MIN 50Q2 3:26 · DET 49–MIN 51Q2 3:26 · DET 49–MIN 52Q2 3:16 · DET 51–MIN 52Q2 2:51 · DET 53–MIN 52Q2 2:28 · DET 53–MIN 54Q2 2:06 · DET 53–MIN 55Q2 2:06 · DET 53–MIN 56Q2 1:55 · DET 56–MIN 56Q2 1:29 · DET 57–MIN 56Q2 1:29 · DET 58–MIN 56Q2 1:08 · DET 59–MIN 56Q2 1:08 · DET 60–MIN 56Q3 12:00 · DET 65–MIN 58Q3 11:46 · DET 65–MIN 60Q3 11:27 · DET 68–MIN 60Q3 11:10 · DET 68–MIN 62Q3 9:54 · DET 70–MIN 62Q3 9:54 · DET 71–MIN 62Q3 9:32 · DET 71–MIN 65Q3 9:15 · DET 73–MIN 65Q3 9:02 · DET 73–MIN 67Q3 8:15 · DET 75–MIN 67Q3 7:13 · DET 76–MIN 67Q3 7:13 · DET 77–MIN 67Q3 6:48 · DET 80–MIN 67Q3 6:06 · DET 80–MIN 69Q3 5:44 · DET 80–MIN 72Q3 5:25 · DET 81–MIN 72Q3 5:25 · DET 82–MIN 72Q3 4:40 · DET 84–MIN 72Q3 4:18 · DET 86–MIN 72Q3 4:02 · DET 86–MIN 73Q3 4:02 · DET 86–MIN 74Q3 3:17 · DET 88–MIN 74Q3 2:59 · DET 88–MIN 76Q3 2:59 · DET 88–MIN 77Q3 2:46 · DET 91–MIN 77Q3 2:31 · DET 91–MIN 78Q3 1:25 · DET 93–MIN 78Q3 1:04 · DET 94–MIN 78Q3 1:04 · DET 95–MIN 78Q4 11:45 · DET 99–MIN 82Q4 11:25 · DET 99–MIN 85Q4 10:47 · DET 99–MIN 87Q4 10:27 · DET 101–MIN 87Q4 10:11 · DET 104–MIN 87Q4 8:54 · DET 104–MIN 89Q4 8:45 · DET 106–MIN 89Q4 8:16 · DET 107–MIN 89Q4 7:56 · DET 109–MIN 89Q4 7:56 · DET 110–MIN 89Q4 7:45 · DET 110–MIN 90Q4 7:45 · DET 110–MIN 91Q4 7:25 · DET 113–MIN 91Q4 6:57 · DET 115–MIN 91Q4 6:37 · DET 117–MIN 91Q4 6:23 · DET 117–MIN 94Q4 6:07 · DET 117–MIN 95Q4 5:08 · DET 117–MIN 96Q4 4:33 · DET 119–MIN 96Q4 4:15 · DET 119–MIN 97Q4 3:45 · DET 119–MIN 100Q4 2:26 · DET 120–MIN 100Q4 1:56 · DET 123–MIN 100Q4 1:40 · DET 123–MIN 103Q4 1:28 · DET 126–MIN 103Q4 1:24 · DET 126–MIN 104Q4 0:00 · DET 128–MIN 106Q1Q2Q3Q4

Quarter-by-quarter momentum

Quarter winners and scoring margin
  1. Q1
    Detroit Pistons logoDET29
    Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN38
    MIN won by 9
  2. Q2Biggest margin
    Detroit Pistons logoDET36
    Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN20
    DET won by 16
  3. Q3
    Detroit Pistons logoDET32
    Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN24
    DET won by 8
  4. Q4
    Detroit Pistons logoDET31
    Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN24
    DET won by 7

Game turning points

Moments identified from the scoring timeline
  1. Largest deficitQ2 · 10:16

    Detroit Pistons trailed by 10 at its deepest point before going on to win.

    Detroit Pistons logoDET 31MIN 41Minnesota Timberwolves logo
  2. Final lead changeQ2 · 1:29

    Detroit Pistons went ahead and did not trail again.

    Detroit Pistons logoDET 57MIN 56Minnesota Timberwolves logo

Momentum swings

Key runs

4 runs · 7+ unanswered points
  1. Q2 · 5:50–4:21Largest run
    Detroit Pistons logoDetroit Pistons9–0run

    DET 40 – MIN 48DET 49 – MIN 48

  2. Q2 · 1:55–1:08
    Detroit Pistons logoDetroit Pistons7–0run

    DET 53 – MIN 56DET 60 – MIN 56

  3. Q3 · 8:15–6:48
    Detroit Pistons logoDetroit Pistons7–0run

    DET 73 – MIN 67DET 80 – MIN 67

  4. Q4 · 7:25–6:37
    Detroit Pistons logoDetroit Pistons7–0run

    DET 110 – MIN 91DET 117 – MIN 91

Players who shaped the game

Player impact

From the box score
Detroit Pistons logo

Detroit Pistons

DET
  1. Leading scorerJalen Duren
    24PTS3REB1AST2STL1BLK
  2. Impact contributorCade Cunningham
    14PTS2REB9AST1STL0BLK
  3. Impact contributorDuncan Robinson
    15PTS6REB1AST0STL0BLK
Minnesota Timberwolves logo

Minnesota Timberwolves

MIN
  1. Leading scorerAnthony Edwards
    20PTS0REB3AST2STL0BLK
  2. Impact contributorJaden McDaniels
    12PTS6REB3AST2STL1BLK
  3. Impact contributorJonathan Kuminga
    16PTS4REB3AST1STL0BLK

Team performance

Biggest advantages and setbacks

What the winner did best—and what it overcame

Advantages

  1. Field-goal shootingWinner edge

    Detroit Pistons had a 19 percentage points edge in field-goal shooting.

    DET 57%MIN 38%
  2. Points in the paintWinner edge

    Detroit Pistons had a 34 edge in points in the paint.

    DET 64MIN 30
  3. Three-point shootingWinner edge

    Detroit Pistons had a 12 percentage points edge in three-point shooting.

    DET 44%MIN 32%

Setbacks

The winner did not trail in a major comparison.

The numbers behind the win

Evidence

6 signals

Paint scoring

Detroit outscored Minnesota by 34 points in the paint, the largest scoring-category advantage in the team comparison.

Detroit Pistons logoDET64
Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN30

Overall shooting

Detroit shot 19 percentage points better from the field, giving it a major efficiency advantage.

Detroit Pistons logoDET57%
Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN38%

Three-point shooting

Detroit also held a 12-percentage-point advantage from three, extending its shooting edge beyond the paint.

Detroit Pistons logoDET44%
Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN32%

Rebounding

Detroit won the rebounding battle by 11, driven by a 35-23 advantage on the defensive glass.

Detroit Pistons logoDET45
Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN34

Ball movement

Detroit recorded 9 more assists than Minnesota, with Cade Cunningham contributing 9.

Detroit Pistons logoDET32
Minnesota Timberwolves logoMIN23
Editorial turning point

MIN 56-53 DET → DET 63-56 MIN

Minnesota led 56-53 late in the second quarter, but Detroit scored 10 unanswered points from 1:55 to 34.4 seconds to take a 63-56 lead. Minnesota never regained the lead, and Detroit carried that advantage into halftime before extending it after the break.

This game’s Winning DNA

How Detroit Pistons got it done.

The winning formula behind this game.

Detroit Pistons logo

Detroit Pistons

Paint Dominance
40%
3PT Shooting
25%
Rebounding
20%
Playmaking
15%

Editorial weights for this game — not fan-vote percentages or official NBA statistics.

Team Comparison

Detroit Pistons logoDetroit Pistons128 PTSVSTarget CenterMinnesota Timberwolves logoMinnesota Timberwolves106 PTS
45-79FG29-76
11-253PT11-34
27-33FT37-44
45REB34
32AST23
11STL11
6BLK4
20TO20

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