The Detroit Pistons showed true grit Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors, overcoming a 17-point deficit to take a 94-90 win and move to 2-1 in NBA Summer League play.
Without Jalen Duran and Jaden Ivey, the two rookies, Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser stepped up as leaders on the stat sheet. Thompson, the no. 5 pick in last month’s draft, had 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals while Sasser, the No. 25 picks, had 15 points and seven assists.
Jared Rhoden also stepped up thanks to a hot start, leading the Pistons with 18 points to go with eight rebounds.
The Pistons squared off against first round pick and Kansas standout Gradey Dick, Rutgers star Ron Harper Jr. and Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell, who became a breakout star during the 2023 NCAA tournament.
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The two teams certainly played a physical game with each committing a technical and flagrant foul. Aggressive defense around the perimeter led to things getting a little chippy every now and then as both teams played hard throughout all four quarters.
Thompson makes presence known (again)
Thompson continues to prove that the Pistons made the right choice by taking him with the fifth pick in the NBA draft. Although outside shooting was a concern before the draft, Thompson has excelled in just about every category in his first three summer league games.
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General manager Troy Weaver has emphasized the importance of defense and Thompson fits right into that model. He plays aggressive, but smart, giving him the ability to steal the ball away from an opposing player before they can even notice. When Thompson manages to swipe the ball, he immediately finds a teammate in transition, acting as a catalyst in a scoring play.
Those abilities were on full display against Toronto, especially during two breakaways—one that likely got Thompson featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10. Thompson stole the ball from Gradey Dick and pushed it up the floor before passing it off to Marcus Sasser who tossed it up for a reverse dunk from Thompson.
His defensive toughness led to offensive success once again when he secured a defensive rebound and threw a perfectly timed pass to Tosan Evbuomwan on the other end of the court for an easy two points. He showed that toughness on the offensive end at the end of the first half as well by outworking everyone under the bucket and getting his own rebound twice before laying it in.
Rhoden finds early stride
After scoring just two points against the Rockets Sunday, Rhoden came out hot against the Raptors. Rhoden, who played 14 games with the Pistons last season, scored the first nine points of the game.
He hit a free throw after being fouled on a layup to complete the three-point play before knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers. Rhoden was guarded by Gradey Dick in an early man-to-man defensive setup but had no issues shaking him off to find the bucket.
Rhoden cooled off in the second and third quarters but nailed a dunk to cut the Pistons’ deficit to three points late in the fourth quarter. He got a goaltending call and then hit the free throw with under two minutes to play to keep the team in it as the clock wound down. Rhoden remained solid at the free throw line, hitting two more to put the Pistons up three with 13 seconds left, ultimately contributing to the win.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons pull off comeback win over Raptors in Summer League