How the Detroit Pistons Earned a Close Win Over the Denver Nuggets

The Detroit Pistons continued their stand against the Western Conference with a 109-107 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Pistons center Jalen Duren ended a paint-powered game with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Nuggets center Jonas Valančiūnas countered with 16 points and 16 boards.

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and center Jalen Duren — Jan 27, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) and center Jalen Duren (0) react to a foul called in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Two lead guards would stuff the stat sheet even as both sides found more success inside the arc.

Guard Jamal Murray, who starred in a near-one-man show in the first half of a Cleveland Cavaliers win over Denver earlier this month, would end the night with 24 points and 10 assists as he found some of the same magic he did against Detroit's divisional counterparts.

The 2023 champion entered the game with 20 points or more in five of his last six matchups, including a 42-point show in a close win over the Washington Wizards. The Pistons countered with some star power of their own as All-Star starting guard Cade Cunningham ended the game with 22 points and 11 assists.

Detroit followed up two Murray free throws in the game's opening minute with two inside buckets and an Ausar Thompson steal he'd take back to the house.

The Pistons would chip away at Denver's defense early with a flurry of close-up makes, including six from the duo of Cunningham and Duren. Turnovers and pressure from one of the league's highest-ranked defenses would keep things in Detroit's favor even as the Nuggets would cut things close in the second quarter as they finally started to find some consistency from long range.

Neither side hit a 3-pointer until just over nine minutes into the game. The old-school matchup would end with a combined clip of about 26.7% from the 3-point line. The Pistons would hit just six of their 31 tries from long range, but would power ahead with 64 points in the paint to Denver's 48.

A recent trend has seen three of Detroit's last five matchups, including a statement win over the Boston Celtics, end with neither side breaking the 35% mark from the 3-point line. The Pistons entered the night tied with the Phoenix Suns in a top-10 spot in the league in opponent 3-point percentage while staying on par with the Philadelphia 76ers at around 17th in the NBA in 3-point percentage.

The Pistons will hit the road to take on the Suns, who are bobbing up and down the win column with a string of winning and losing streaks. Detroit barely beat Phoenix in a home win earlier this month, where Suns guard Grayson Allen stole the show with 33 points while sinking seven of his 20 3-point attempts. The Pistons are in solid standing with the league's contending squads as they sit at 15-6 against teams with a record of .500 or more after the Tuesday-night win.

Phoenix will enter the matchup with a record of 11-14, but has gone 4-4 against winning squads this month.

The Pistons will face the Suns at 9 p.m. EST on Thursday in the Mortgage Matchup Center. The game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network - Detroit.