Pressing Cade Cunningham, OKC’s decision to go all out full-court was a bad gamble. The NBA All-Star player dumped off the ball to his fellow NBA All-Star Jalen Duren for the easy dunk. Failing to get a transition stop was the end of the short-handed squad’s at pulling off one of the biggest upsets.
The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t pull off the Herculean task in their 124-116 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Considering who was all out, the reigning NBA champions valiantly fought in a result you can’t get too mad over.
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Already without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, the Thunder were also down Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso. Two more joined the list at halftime with Isaiah Joe and Branden Carlson.
I mean, yeah, that’s tough. Being without four of your five starters put the Thunder in such an unclimbable hole from the jump. That all you could really hope for is that they make things interesting. And boy, did they. Even with their C squad, they showed why you can’t skip out on an OKC national TV game despite any top-billing stars.
The Thunder had quite the start to this game. They blitzed the Pistons from the jump — who likely came expecting an easy win. OKC finished the opening frame with a 15-2 run. They had a surprising 34-22 lead over Detroit. Jaylin Williams and Cason Wallace both got started with a busy night.
Great start, but it felt too good to be true. Say what you want about the Pistons’ championship odds. But they’ve proven to be an NBA regular-season win machine. Eventually, they snapped out of it with a 13-3 run in the second quarter to make this a game.
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Duren had an easy alley-oop to cut OKC’s lead to 40-39 with a little over five minutes left in the second frame. He was active all night against an absent Thunder frontcourt. The Thunder only had 18 points in the quarter. Quite the opposite of how things started. Detroit’s second-best defense finally showed itself.
The Thunder entered halftime in a 58-52 deficit. Honestly, not bad. Can’t be too mad at being at the spot against the team vying with you for 2026 NBA Finals homecourt advantage. They at least made the game watchable with such a lackluster group of players suited up.
Coming out of the break, the Pistons flipped a switch. The Thunder fell behind as the reality of their situation slapped them across the face. Duncan Robinson bumped his way to a reverse layup to put Detroit up 71-61 with a little over seven minutes left in the third frame.
The double-digit cushion would remain there. Wallace had 21 points, but nobody else on OKC could buy a bucket. That’s what happens when you’re as beat up as they are. Paired with the Pistons’ hot shooting, that was a bad combination. The Thunder had 28 points in the third quarter. They were in a 94-80 deficit.
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Just as soon as you feel safe to change channels, though, the Thunder quietly got back into it. The ESPN broadcast crew was in the mode to tie things up. But Aaron Wiggins and Jared McCain became OKC’s next men up to make this a game once again.
The Thunder went on a 13-2 run to slice their deficit from double-digit points to just single-digit. Wiggins knocked down an outside jumper to make it a 108-103 contest. Williams then swished in a pair of free throws to make it a 108-105 deficit with a little over five minutes to go.
That meant we were in clutch time for a game where the Pistons were fully healthy and the Thunder were not. An unreal situation to find yourself in for the latter. Regardless of the loss, that in itself is worth being impressed by.
All that aside, the Pistons responded with a 7-2 run that put enough distance on the scoreboard. Cunningham took over both as a downhill scorer and playmaker. The Detroit crowd let out a sigh of relief as its squad avoided two straight bad losses that would’ve had folks question its spot in the NBA hierarchy.
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The Thunder couldn’t score timely buckets on the other end. That’s where Gilgeous-Alexander would’ve come in handy. Ask Detroits fans about the last time OKC was in town. They got it to within four points with 39 seconds to go, but the short-handed squad’s hope to generate another turnover led to an easy bucket for Duren.
The Thunder shot 41% from the field and went 18-of-49 (36.7%) from 3. They shot 20-of-21 on free throws. They also had 28 assists on 39 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Williams led the way with an efficient 30 points and 11 rebounds. Wallace stepped up once again with 23 points and five assists. McCain had 20 points and three rebounds. Wiggins finished with 20 points and six assists. Kenrich Williams tallied 13 points and four rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Pistons shot 54% from the field and went 9-of-27 (33.3%) from 3. They shot 19-of-26 on free throws. They also had 29 assists on 48 baskets. Four Pistons players scored double-digit points.
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Cunningham finished with 29 points and 13 assists. Duren had 29 points and 15 rebounds. Robinson scored 16 points. Ausar Thompson tallied 11 points and seven assists.
That was about that. The Thunder scored 36 points in the fourth quarter. A great start and beginning, but a forgettable middle part. If it wasn’t for the first-seed race, you’d mostly feel good about this showing. But that will add some extra stress over each OKC loss from here on out. I digress. This was a good showing all things considered.
The Thunder continue to flex their depth. This time, Williams, Wallace, Wiggins and McCain stepped up as four 20-point scorers. The talent difference was eventually too much to overcome, though. Even with the loss, you gotta feel good about how you match up for the Pistons — just in case they return to Detroit in June.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
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Jaylin Williams: A-plus
Feb 25, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) blocks a shot by Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Saving the ball from going into the backcourt, Williams was rewarded for his hard work. The ball swung back to him. With Cunningham on him, he drove to the basket and bumped him off for the fancy driving layup that banked in off the glass. The early bucket should’ve told you the type of night he’d enjoy.
Williams finished with 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds and four assists. He shot 5-of-10 from 3 and went 7-of-7 on free throws. He also had one block and one steal.
Talk about stepping up. With everybody else out, the Thunder relied on their third-string center. He answered the call with a career-best 30 points against the NBA’s second-best defense. Unreal. While he enjoyed some hot outside shooting luck, he also had no problem getting to the cup and earning his points the blue-collar way.
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It was a busy night at the free-throw line for Williams. He got there at a decent clip. That’s one of the ways to get an efficient 30 points. Ask Gilgeous-Alexander. He had 16 points in the first half. The Thunder opened up a double-digit lead and entered halftime in a gettable game because of his uptick in scoring.
Mounting a comeback, Williams scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. He stepped up as a scorer as the Thunder tried to do the unthinkable. He also helped on the boards — something you can’t take for granted as the undersized OKC squad faced a tough Detroit.
The Thunder are who folks think the Miami Heat are. Missing over half of their team on the road, they made the Pistons and San Antonio Spurs sweat out close wins against the C squad — the two teams most have penciled in as their biggest obstacles to back-to-back titles.
No matter who’s out, the Thunder will go all out. That might lead to losses, but it gives you a solid floor of being in most games. Williams is the latest example. The 23-year-old has mostly been in the backend of OKC’s rotation over the years, but he’s shown he’s capable of scaling up to whatever is needed on a night-to-night basis.
Cason Wallace: A-plus
Feb 25, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) strips the ball from Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Getting the switch on Tobias Harris, Wallace started to dance. He dribbled the ball left and right as he calculated his next move. The 22-year-old went with the pull-up mid-range jumper at the elbow. The ball swished through. Breaking down an NBA defender one-on-one is another tangible of the leap he’s taken.
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Wallace finished with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting, five assists and two rebounds. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one steal.
In this era of hospital OKC ball, Wallace has normalized these outings. He’s turned into a 20-point scorer. To do this against the second-best defense and on top of their scouting report adds to the momentum of his hot streak. He put the ball down and relentlessly drove to the basket several times.
Wallace showed off some of his handle with his self-created buckets. A couple of mid-range jumpers screamed he could do more on the court. His outside jumper also fell at a decent clip. He also continued to demonstrate his playmaking skills with several kick-out passes to the perimeter.
Wallace had 12 points in the first half. He scored nine points in the third quarter. A couple of the OKC role players kept this competitive and didn’t allow the Pistons to turn this into a laughter. He had a quiet final frame as the Thunder tried to mount a comeback, but you can’t hold that over his head too badly.
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To show how long an NBA regular season can be, show Wallace. For the first three months, he looked completely out of it. Anytime the ball was in his hands, you could just tell he overthought his next move. The outside jumper betraying him didn’t help, either. But over the last month, it’s been the complete opposite story. He’s suddenly turned into a legitimate scorer who could create his own look. Wow.
Let’s see what he looks like in a downsized role once Gilgeous-Alexander returns, but Wallace’s breakout has been the best part of this brutal three-week stretch without the reigning MVP. It’s now about figuring out how to fold that into OKC’s offense when fully healthy — a great problem to have.
Jared McCain: B-plus
Feb 25, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) dribbles in the second half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Gifted William’s dribble-handoff, McCain got away from Thompson with the relocation. He took one dribble before he pulled up from deep. The swished outside jumper was part of a strong second half for the 22-year-old as he continues to learn his new teammates.
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McCain finished with 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting, three rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-10 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws.
The jumper is McCain’s bread and butter. It’s what helped him get into the NBA. The Thunder desperately needed it if they wanted to keep it close with the Pistons in the second half. To his credit, he did his best job at replacing Joe with 18 points in the latter two quarters.
The Thunder encouraged McCain not to get shy from deep. They badly needed a bucket-getter to put up points on the scoreboard. He rewarded their confidence with a sizzling second half. He pulled up from all areas of the floor — from underneath the rim to near halfcourt.
Eventually, McCain found a groove. The Pistons couldn’t keep up with his off-ball movement. That’s one of the benefits of being a small guard. The Thunder kept feeding him the ball in their pass-happy offense as a way to manufacture buckets. That’s a great way to compensate for a lack of scoring talent.
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Awesome game for McCain. Maybe his best since he joined the Thunder. He had a forgettable first half. But amped it up after the break. It’s been a little inconsistent since he joined OKC, but you saw his potential in this one as a gunner who could help bury an opponent on the scoreboard.
Aaron Wiggins: B-minus
Feb 25, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) fouls Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Getting Robinson on him, Wiggins began to cook. Dribbling left and right, he had Detroit’s designated outside shooter in skates. Eventually, the 27-year-old pulled up at the nail to swish in the mid-range jumper. The big-time bucket made it a four-point game with four minutes to go.
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Wiggins finished with 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting, six assists and four rebounds. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went 6-of-7 on free throws. He also had one steal and one block.
Speaking of salvaging a stinker, Wiggins finally had a bright moment during this injury plague stretch. He had 12 points in the fourth quarter as he got the hot hand. He was able to hit on his patented mid-range jumpers and knocked down catch-and-shoot looks. Even with the loss, this game had to have felt good for him.
Wiggins was OKC’s fourth 20-point scorer in this one. Kinda an impressive stat considering all four were role players. An inefficient night didn’t stop him from hunting his shots, which is all you could really ask for from a guy going through a rut. That mentally helped him get a dozen points in the final frame as the Thunder almost pulled off the unreal upset.
When the Thunder first started this sans-Gilgeous-Alexander stretch, most penciled Wiggins as a beneficiary. Over the years, he’s shown he can easily scale up as a scorer. He can do it both off-ball and create his own bucket. That hasn’t really been the case, so far. It’s a bad time to go through the slump as he’s magnified with the number of players out.
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Maybe Wiggins’ strong finish can get him some momentum. If Wallace and Joe have taught us anything, you can’t overreact to a bad stretch. Especially from NBA role players. Part of the ebbs and flows of a marathon-esque regular season. Hopefully, it’s his turn to get some confidence.
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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder show fight in 124-116 loss to Pistons
