October 24, 2026 at 6:28 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Pistons pull away from Heat, 128-111, and Miami's bounce-back never arrives

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Detroit got scoring from six players in double figures while Giannis Antetokounmpo's 36 points went mostly unaccompanied in a 17-point Heat loss.

Miami wanted a quick answer to its 131-106 home loss to Minnesota in the opener. Friday night at home it got another loss, this one 128-111 to Detroit, and it was never close enough to feel like a recovery. The Pistons, who beat Boston 121-113 in their own opener, are 2-0. The Heat are 0-2 and have now been outscored by 51 points in their first two games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo did what he could. He finished with 36 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes, a double-double that mostly served as a reminder of how much Miami asks of him. Davion Mitchell added 18 and Bobby Portis had 11 off the bench, but the rest of the rotation barely registered. Andrew Wiggins scored 8, Tim Hardaway Jr. 8, Klay Thompson 6, and Bam Adebayo 4 in 23 minutes. A team still working out who it is should not be leaning this hard on one player by the second night.

Detroit spread it around. John Collins scored 23 and Paul Reed, coming off the bench, had 19 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Duncan Robinson hit for 17, Cade Cunningham had 16 points and 8 assists, Daniss Jenkins added 15 and Isaiah Joe 12. That is six players in double figures. The Heat's drop coverage drew plenty of questions after Minnesota's guards worked it over, and Detroit's ball handlers found the same room. Cunningham, who is happiest getting into the paint, did not need a big scoring night to run the game from there.

The oddsmakers had this as close to a toss-up, with the Pistons favored by 1.5. It was not that tight. Detroit covered with a lot of room to spare, and Miami now has a few days to work out how to build a supporting cast around Giannis and how to defend a guard who wants to get downhill.

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