'I had no clue': Thunder makes 13 consecutive shots to rally past Pistons, snap eight-game losing skid

DETROIT — A rowdy Pistons fan relentlessly reminded the Thunder of what happened four nights prior in Memphis.

“You lost by 73 points,” he yelled, “and you’re losing to the Pistons.”

Accurate on both accounts. And it remained true until late Monday night, when the Thunder surged past the Pistons in the fourth quarter.

OKC beat Detroit 114-103 to snap an eight-game losing streak. The Pistons’ own eight-game losing streak grew to nine.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished at the bucket with four minutes left to give the Thunder its first lead of the night. Mike Muscala followed with a 3-pointer to make it 101-97, prompting a Pistons timeout.

The Thunder, which trailed by as many as 18 points, outscored the Pistons 42-22 in the fourth quarter. It was the Thunder’s highest-scoring quarter of the season.

OKC shot a scorching 17-of-19 from the field in the fourth quarter. The Thunder made 13 straight shots — the second-longest single-game streak in team history.

“Yeah, I had no clue,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I just know that when I went in there I wanted our group to get the best shot every possession.”

“There’s a randomness to that just like there’s a randomness to shooting any night,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault added, “but I thought we played with good rhythm.”

The Thunder (7-16) has a league-leading five comebacks of at least 15 points.

Here are four more takeaways:

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Cunningham vs. Giddey

Former OSU phenom Cade Cunningham fittingly wore orange and black sneakers Monday night against the Thunder.

Cunningham, picked No. 1 overall by Detroit, faced off against Josh Giddey, the Thunder’s pick at No. 6.

Cunningham spent a large part of the night guarding Giddey, but the Thunder put Luguentz Dort on Cunningham.

Cunningham led the Pistons with a career-high 28 points. He shot 11-of-24 overall, including 6-of-11 from deep. Cunningham had 11 rebounds, five assists and six turnovers.

“His size stands out,” Daigneault said before the game. “Not only is he big and long, but I think he’s gonna really fill out physically. And then he adds a feel for the game that is pretty potent.”

Giddey was back in the starting lineup for the Thunder after missing two games with the flu. Giddey scored 12 points with five assists and four turnovers.

Giddey, still sounding under the weather, downplayed the matchup against Cunningham.

“The kid can really play,” the 19-year-old Giddey said of the 20-year-old Cunningham. “He’s in a good situation. He has the ball in his hands a lot. He looks really good.”

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SGA attacks

Gilgeous-Alexander attacked the Pistons all night long.

The slippery Thunder star shot 9-of-20 from the field and 12-of-15 from the foul line for a game-high 30 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander has attempted 31 free throws in his last two games.

The Thunder lived at the free throw line (30 attempts) while the Pistons were infrequent visitors (six attempts).

“(Detroit’s) a physical team that isn’t afraid to take fouls around the basket,” Daigneault said, “and I told the officials at one point, I said, ‘If they foul us 100 times, you’ve gotta call 100 fouls.’

“They were 70 off from that,” Daigneault deadpanned. “I give our guys credit because it was a physical game at the basket, and it didn’t deter us from going in there and taking the next hit.”

OKC outscored Detroit 58-34 in the paint.

“We just know our brand of basketball that we wanna play,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s downhill and getting to the paint.”

Gilgeous-Alexander was out Thursday night in Memphis with a concussion, but he was back to his normal self Monday.

Gilgeous-Alexander dished a career-high 13 assists in the win.

Derrick Favors (flu) and Kenrich Williams (ankle sprain) were also back for the Thunder.

Williams, who missed the last three games, delivered as he almost always does.

He was a menace on defense with four steals, and he scored 12 points off the bench.

The Thunder outscored the Pistons by 22 points with Williams on the floor.

“Yeah, he was a monster tonight,” Daigneault said. “It was great having him back out there. He brings great spirit, gets to loose balls, rebounds and he takes great pride in the areas of the game that are competitive but invisible and team-oriented.”

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Dort from deep

Dort shot 5-of-10 from 3-point range, tying his season high in makes.

The Pistons, the worst 3-point shooting team in the league, were also effective from deep Monday night (16-of-41).

Dort scored 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting, matching Gilgeous-Alexander’s line.

Dort is shooting 34% from 3-point range this season on a career-high 7.2 attempts per game. As a rookie, Dort shot 30% from three on 2.8 attempts per game.

“It’s been impressive, but not surprising,” Daigneault said of Dort’s improvement. “Nothing he does surprises me at this point. It’s just who he is.

“He sees everything as a challenge. When he faces adversities or struggles, he frames them in a really, really optimistic way … He just puts his head down and works.”

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Christmas list

Jacob Sanchez’s sign made Thunder players stop and stare during their pregame warmups.

Sanchez, an 18-year-old Thunder fan from Ann Arbor, Michigan, wrote his “Christmas List” on white poster board.

► Shoes from Shai

► Picture with Josh Giddey

► More draft picks

► No more 73-point losses

Gilgeous-Alexander, Muscala, Favors and Ty Jerome were among the players who stopped and signed the poster.

Sanchez wore a No. 2 Gilgeous-Alexander jersey, and SGA signed that, too.

Sanchez was born in Tulsa, but he moved to Michigan when he was a baby. He doesn’t remember much about Oklahoma, but he’s been a lifelong Thunder fan.

“I’m all about roots, I guess,” said Sanchez, who’s seen the Thunder play in Detroit four seasons in a row.

Sanchez explained each item on his Christmas list, which is now adorned with signatures from his favorite players.

Gilgeous-Alexander: “Shai’s my favorite player, and I love his fashion and his drip.”

Giddey: “Josh Giddey is the best rookie in this class. It’s inarguable.”

Draft picks: “A lot of people like to say 36 is too many. Thirty-six is not too many. Other teams are just jealous.”

The 73-point loss: “As long as we don’t lose that bad for the rest of the year, I’m pretty content.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder vs. Pistons: Five takeaways from OKC's win at Detroit