With two matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a four-day span, the Pistons had a chance to make a mark against one of the surprise teams in the Western Conference.
They’ll have to make some adjustments before Sunday’s rematch, following a sloppy performance. Minnesota took advantage of 16 Pistons’ turnovers for 21 points, pulling ahead in the third quarter and cruising in the final quarter for a 128-117 win on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The Pistons were without Cade Cunningham, who has a right hip pointer, but they didn’t struggle for scoring. Frank Jackson had 25 points, Saddiq Bey 21 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high eight assists and Jerami Grant 20 points and five rebounds for the Pistons (12-39).
The recurring issue for the Pistons was turnovers, and specifically loose-ball turnovers, which led to easy baskets on the other end. The Timberwolves (27-25) built a 16-point lead at the 7:39 mark of the fourth quarter, and they looked poised to run away with the game, but the Pistons had a final rally.
The Pistons scored 11 straight points, with a jumper and 3-pointer by Cory Joseph, a lob to Isaiah Stewart (10 points and 13 rebounds), and a 4-point play by Jackson, who finished with five 3-pointers. That stretch pulled the Pistons within 117-112 with 3:37 left.
Anthony Edwards (25 points) stopped the run with a 3-pointer and Patrick Beverley (11 points, six rebounds and seven assists) added a hook in the lane to push the lead back to 10.
BOX SCORE: Timberwolves 128, Pistons 117
They scored 11 straight points, with a jumper and 3-pointer by Cory Joseph, a lob to Isaiah Stewart (10 points and 13 rebounds) and a 4-point play by Jackson, who finished with five 3-pointers. That stretch pulled the Pistons within 117-112 with 3:37 left.
Anthony Edwards (25 points) stopped the run with a 3-pointer and Patrick Beverley (11 points, six rebounds and seven assists) added a hook in the lane to push the lead back to 10.
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The Pistons answered with two free throws from Joseph and another 3-pointer from Jackson to pull back within five. They couldn’t capitalize, though, and Beverley had a long 3-pointer that stretched the lead to eight with 29 seconds remaining.
“It’s way too many (turnovers) against a team like that. The decisions we were making, some of them were mind-boggling,” coach Dwane Casey said. “Shooting ourselves in the foot is something we have to grow from and learn from.”
At halftime, the Pistons had a 67-65 lead, with one of their highest-scoring halves of the season, including 11 points from Bey. Early in the third quarter, Bey had five of the Pistons’ first 12 points, including a pair of jumpers.
Karl-Anthony Towns (21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists) got the Timberwolves going in the third quarter with a basket and Edwards kept the momentum with eight points in the first six minutes of the period.
“They hit a few shots and knocked us off, in terms of our focus,” Stewart said.
But the Pistons kept the lead with a 3-pointer by Grant, for an 82-77 margin. Towns keyed a 13-2 spurt with nine points, including two baskets and five free throws.
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In his second game back after missing 24 straight games because of a thumb injury, Grant again was effective, going 7-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers. He’s still working on getting back to full speed, but the scoring isn’t suffering.
“For him to get 20 points after having been out that long, I’m surprised,” Casey said.
The turnovers did the Pistons in, in addition to the fast-break points, even off the Pistons’ made baskets. The Timberwolves had 11 steals and using that defense to turn those opportunities into easy points on the other end was big for them.
“I think they had 20-plus points on fast breaks in the first half,” Stewart said. “We have to do a better job of getting back. Most of it is just communicating.”
The Pistons play the second night of a back-to-back on Friday against the Boston Celtics, and Casey said that the medical staff will check on Cunningham’s status, as he recovers from the hip issue.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard