Jalen Duren answered the biggest night of his postseason with the clearest one. The 22-year-old center scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots as the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-94 on Friday night in Cleveland, pushing the series to a Game 7 on Sunday.
Detroit staved off elimination for the fourth time this postseason, and Duren did it in 27 minutes with the kind of force the Pistons have needed from him since the series began. He also added one steal. Game 7 is set for Sunday at 8 p.m. on Prime Video, with a spot in the Eastern Conference finals on the line.
The performance was a sharp turn from Game 5, when Duren was benched for the fourth quarter and overtime because he looked so out of sync. Earlier in the series, he had struggled enough that he seemed to be moving through it in a fog. That is not a small issue for Detroit, which needs him as a rim protector, shot-blocker, put-back force and finisher if it is going to keep extending this run.
Duren did not hide what Friday meant to him. He said his confidence never wavered and that he knows who he is, what he can do and what he can be. He also credited Daniss Jenkins, who told him after the last game to keep his energy and spirit right and that God would bless him. Duren said his mother gave him strength and called her his backbone.
The Pistons gave him help, too. Detroit used Paul Reed as Duren’s backup on Friday night, and Reed delivered a career playoff-high 17 points, six rebounds and a block in 16 minutes. That support mattered because the opener to this stretch had been so different: in Game 5, Duren sat at the end while the Pistons were trying to survive, and the pressure on his minutes and decisions had been mounting, as he had said after Game 4 that he needed to be better.
The margin itself told part of the story. Before Friday, Detroit had won the previous five games in the series by 10 points or less. This time, it won by 21. For one night, the Pistons looked less like a team holding on and more like one with a center playing to the level they have spent the series asking of him. If they are going to take the next step, they will need that version of Duren again on Sunday.
