Jalen Duren scored a career-best 33 points on 13-of-16 shooting and collected 10 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons notch a 122-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night in Mexico City.
Cade Cunningham recorded 21 points, tied his career high of 18 assists and grabbed six rebounds as Detroit won for the fourth time in six games this season. Duncan Robinson scored 18 points and Ausar Thompson added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons, who outscored Dallas 35-17 in the final quarter.
D’Angelo Russell made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points for Dallas, which played without star Anthony Davis (left calf). Cooper Flagg registered 16 points and eight rebounds, and Max Christie added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Mavericks, who made just four of 16 shots in the final quarter.
The Mavericks-Pistons clash marks the 15th regular-season contest played in Mexico City. The NBA also has held 19 preseason games in the country.
This was the second time Dallas and Detroit met in Mexico City. The Mavericks won the other, 122-111 on Dec. 12, 2019.
The Mavericks trailed by three with 2:32 left before Detroit finished with a flourish.
The Pistons scored the last nine points on Robinson’s jumper, Thompson’s layup, Duren’s two free throws and Cunningham’s 30-foot 3-pointer.
Dallas shot 42.5% from the field, including 16 of 45 from 3-point range. Brandon Williams had 12 points and Klay Thompson scored 11.
Tobias Harris tallied 11 points and Isaiah Stewart added 10 for the Pistons, who made 49.5% of their attempts and were 9 of 24 from behind the arc.
Caris LeVert buried a trey to give Detroit an 85-84 lead with 2:28 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks answered with a 9-2 run to take a 93-87 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Pistons scored the first seven points of the stanza before Russell drained consecutive 3-pointers to give Dallas a 99-94 lead with 8:55 remaining.
The Mavericks held their last lead at 106-105 on Russell’s 3-pointer with 4:51 remaining. The Pistons answered with six straight points, the last four by Duren, for a 111-106 lead with 3:20 left.
Flagg had 10 first-half points as Dallas led 61-59 at the break. Duren had 17 in the half for the Pistons.
The Mavericks held a 40-31 lead after a 3-pointer by Russell with 8:47 left in the half before Detroit went on a 23-4 burst to take a 10-point advantage with 3:23 remaining.
Dallas responded with a 17-5 surge to hold the two-point halftime edge.
