Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson hurt as Pistons beat Heat

Midway through the 2nd quarter, Duren drove at Giannis Antetokounmpo, grabbed at the back of his right knee and went straight to the locker room.

Omari Sankofa II

@omarisankofa

Duren just tweaked his right knee and immediately walked right back to the locker room

The Pistons called it a right thigh injury and listed him as questionable to return. It never got that far. Detroit was up 12 at halftime and didn't need its starting center to stay there, so Paul Reed took his spot to open the 3rd.

Coty M. Davis

@CotyDavis_24

No Jalen Duren (right thigh) to start the second half. Paul Reed is starting in his place. #Pistons

Then the 3rd quarter got rough. With 6:37 left, Ausar Thompson stepped on Andrew Wiggins' heel, rolled his right ankle and headed to the back too. Cade Cunningham was sitting with 4 fouls. That's 2 starters gone and your best player stuck on the bench, which is exactly when a Heat team with Giannis is supposed to make a run.

Miami never made one. Reed played like a guy who'd been waiting for minutes all summer, John Collins kept hitting 3s in front of his home crowd (he went to high school in West Palm Beach) and the lead kept growing. By the end of the 3rd the Heat crowd was booing.

Omari Sankofa II

@omarisankofa

End of 3: Pistons 103, Heat 80. Some boo birds coming out in Miami. They’ve dominated this game from the jump and haven’t been slowed by injuries to Ausar and Duren. Collins: 19 pts (5-6 from 3) Robinson: 17 points (5-8 from 3) Reed: 16 pts, 9 rebs Cunningham: 11 pts, 6 assts

It finished 128-111. Collins had a team-high 23 on 5-of-6 from deep, and Reed put up 19 and 11 off the bench for a double-double. Antetokounmpo scored 36 and it didn't matter. Miami is 0-2 for only the 8th time in the franchise's 39 years, and Detroit is 2-0 with a win that would feel like a statement if not for the injuries. Afterward, Bickerstaff had nothing on either guy.

Coty M. Davis

@CotyDavis_24

Per Bickerstaff after the game, there's no injury update on Jalen Duren or Ausar Thompson. #Pistons

So now Detroit waits. Neither Duren nor Thompson was ruled out during the game, and that's about the only good news so far. A thigh injury for a big who lives on rim runs and a rolled ankle for the team's best perimeter defender can be a day-to-day thing or a few weeks. Watch the next injury report. Reed just showed he can hold down the middle for a night. Doing it for a stretch would be a lot harder.