Pistons win again without Cunningham, beat Spurs 122-96 behind Sasser's big game off bench

DETROIT -- — Marcus Sasser scored a career-high 27 points in 26 minutes off the bench and the Detroit Pistons routed the San Antonio Spurs 122-96 on Tuesday night for their second consecutive victory without injured star Cade Cunningham.

Tobias Harris added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pistons (41-32), who pulled within a percentage point of Milwaukee (40-31) for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Jalen Duren had 14 points and seven assists, and Ausar Thompson finished with 14 points and six boards.

Cunningham, averaging 25.7 points and 9.2 assists, missed his second straight game with a bruised left calf. Sasser has filled the scoring void, also providing 20 points in 26 minutes Sunday during a 136-130 win over New Orleans.

The second-year guard from Houston entered Tuesday averaging 6.0 points per game. His previous career best was 26 in November 2023 at Milwaukee, early in his rookie season.

Devin Vassell had 26 points for the Spurs, and rookie Stephon Castle scored 19.

Takeaways

Spurs: Playing without injured stars Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox, both out for the season, the Spurs (31-40) fell to 11-23 on the road. They had won three straight for the first time since late November, and five of seven overall. San Antonio began the night three games out of 10th place in the West for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

Pistons: Even minus Cunningham, the Pistons shot 56.4% from the field and won for the fourth time in five games.

Key moment

Detroit outscored the Spurs 30-12 in the second quarter and led 60-34 at halftime.

Key stats

San Antonio shot just 36.3% from the field. Meanwhile, the Pistons were 15 of 31 from 3-point range (48.4%).

Up next

Spurs: Wrap up a three-game trip Thursday night at Cleveland, the top team in the East.

Pistons: Host the Cavaliers on Friday night to finish a three-game homestand.

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