Jalen Duren, Daniss Jenkins pick up Detroit Pistons in win vs Warriors

The Detroit Pistons showed it's not all doom and gloom as they wait for a potential return from Cade Cunningham . The Eastern Conference leaders ripped off a big second quarter to win their third straight, 115-105, over the Golden State Warriors on Friday, March 20, at Little Caesars Arena. The victory clinched the franchise's second straight playoff berth, with the Pistons pulling 13 games ahead of the Atlanta Hawks with 12 to play.

Jalen Duren had 23 points and Daniss Jenkins – starting in place of Cunningham while the All-Star guard recovers from a collapsed lung – came close to a triple-double, with 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, plus a steal. Speaking of steals, Ausar Thompson had seven for the Pistons, who forced 26 turnovers which led to 32 points. MED UPDATE: Cade Cunningham has collapsed lung; a doc explains what that means Paul Reed had 15 points, Tobias Harris tossed in 13 and Duncan Robinson and Ron Holland added 11 apiece for the Pistons, who opened a four-game homestand.

In addition to Cunningham's absence, the Pistons were without Marcus Sasser (hip) and Isaiah Stewart (calf). The Warriors, who were without Steph Curry, Seth Curry, Jimmy Butler, Al Horford (Grand Ledge), Moses Moody and Quinten Post, had a 26-21 lead heading into the second quarter, but the Pistons dropped 36 points on Golden State to head into halftime with a seven-point lead. Golden State was led by Brandon Podziemski, who had 15 points on 4-for-10 shooting.

Detroit Pistons playoff picture With the win, the Pistons improved to 51-19 with just a dozen games left to play. They stretched their lead over the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference to 4½ games, though the Celtics also played on Friday night, in Memphis. The Pistons also increased their lead in the Central Division to eight games, meaning they could clinch their first division title since 2008 sometime next week.