Deadspin | Pistons reach 60-win plateau by racing past Pacers 
Apr 12, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles against Indiana Pacers center Micah Potter (11) in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images The Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons closed out just the third 60-win regular season in franchise history on Sunday, leading wire-to-wire in a 133-121 defeat of the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
With the East’s No. 1 seed in the upcoming NBA Playoffs also secured, Detroit (60-22) limited its entire starting five to fewer than 26 minutes in Sunday’s regular-season finale. That was plenty of time for Paul Reed to make some more Pistons’ history, as he became the organization’s first player ever to score 25-plus points on a perfect field-goal shooting performance.
Reed scored a game-high 26 points on 11-of-11 from the floor. Tobias Harris added 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Detroit knocked down 15-of-33 from long distance overall and went a blistering 50-of-89 (56.2%) from the floor overall.
The Pistons’ even distribution of minutes provided plenty of scoring opportunities for Detroit’s reserves, led by Kevin Huerter’s 15 points and Isaiah Stewart’s 16. The Detroit bench outscored Indiana’s, 60-45.
The Pacers (19-63) made a late push in their final game of the worst season by won-loss record in franchise history, pulling to within six points with less than three minutes remaining. Ethan Thompson, one of four Indiana scorers with at least 18 points, scored the last of his 18 during the futile rally effort down the stretch.
Quenton Jackson and Obi Toppin led the Pacers with 21 points each, and Kobe Brown added 20 points. Micah Potter finished with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The Detroit reserves helped build a lead that peaked at 27 points in the third quarter when the visitors surged out of halftime with an 18-9 run. Reed and Ausar Thompson punctuated the surge with back-to-back dunks, part of the Pistons’ 62 points in the paint.
On a night Detroit was red-hot from the floor, Cade Cunningham was a rare exception shooting just 3 of 12. The Pistons’ star finished with only seven points, but neared a triple-double in his reduced playing time, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing 14 assists.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Pistons #reach #60win #plateau #racing #Pacers
Apr 12, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles against Indiana Pacers center Micah Potter (11) in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images The Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons closed out just the third 60-win regular season in franchise history on Sunday, leading wire-to-wire in a 133-121 defeat of the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
With the East’s No. 1 seed in the upcoming NBA Playoffs also secured, Detroit (60-22) limited its entire starting five to fewer than 26 minutes in Sunday’s regular-season finale. That was plenty of time for Paul Reed to make some more Pistons’ history, as he became the organization’s first player ever to score 25-plus points on a perfect field-goal shooting performance.
Reed scored a game-high 26 points on 11-of-11 from the floor. Tobias Harris added 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Detroit knocked down 15-of-33 from long distance overall and went a blistering 50-of-89 (56.2%) from the floor overall.
The Pistons’ even distribution of minutes provided plenty of scoring opportunities for Detroit’s reserves, led by Kevin Huerter’s 15 points and Isaiah Stewart’s 16. The Detroit bench outscored Indiana’s, 60-45.
The Pacers (19-63) made a late push in their final game of the worst season by won-loss record in franchise history, pulling to within six points with less than three minutes remaining. Ethan Thompson, one of four Indiana scorers with at least 18 points, scored the last of his 18 during the futile rally effort down the stretch.
Quenton Jackson and Obi Toppin led the Pacers with 21 points each, and Kobe Brown added 20 points. Micah Potter finished with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The Detroit reserves helped build a lead that peaked at 27 points in the third quarter when the visitors surged out of halftime with an 18-9 run. Reed and Ausar Thompson punctuated the surge with back-to-back dunks, part of the Pistons’ 62 points in the paint.
On a night Detroit was red-hot from the floor, Cade Cunningham was a rare exception shooting just 3 of 12. The Pistons’ star finished with only seven points, but neared a triple-double in his reduced playing time, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing 14 assists.
–Field Level Media
![Suryansh Shedge: Should have stayed longer because I was set Spending time in the middle was the mantra for Suryansh Shedge, whose 57 off 29 balls had temporarily seemed to have dragged Punjab Kings out of the woods on Sunday.The visitor eventually lost by four wickets against the Gujarat Titans, but Shedge, having waited for long to pounce on an opportunity, got much-needed gametime.“I wouldn’t say I was waiting. I was preparing. So, I look at it from that perspective that whenever I’m thrown into a situation, I should be ready for that. I’ve been speaking to Ricky [Ponting] sir a lot. I’ve been speaking to our captain a lot because I know him. The only thing they tell me is whenever the opportunity knocks, you have to be ready and take it with both hands. So that’s what I tried to do,” Shedge said.“It’s just sometimes some batters get good balls and they get out. But my only intention was to spend as much time as I could. And that, I think, made things easier as I progressed through the innings.”Despite being his side’s best batter and getting it to a competitive 163 on a two-paced wicket, Shedge took responsibility for the loss.“That 7.5-metre length was difficult to play. I think it was a bit two-paced because of the grass and the black soil. And I think at the end of the day, if we would have saved some runs here and there, we would have ended up winning the game. But I put my hand up. I think I should have stayed there because I was set. And if I would have let that ball go [from Kagiso Rabada], things would have been different,” Shedge said.Published on May 04, 2026 #Suryansh #Shedge #stayed #longer #set](https://i0.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/s7dydp/article70937916.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/VIS_2885.JPG?ssl=1 "Suryansh Shedge: Should have stayed longer because I was set Spending time in the middle was the mantra for Suryansh Shedge, whose 57 off 29 balls had temporarily seemed to have dragged Punjab Kings out of the woods on Sunday.The visitor eventually lost by four wickets against the Gujarat Titans, but Shedge, having waited for long to pounce on an opportunity, got much-needed gametime.“I wouldn’t say I was waiting. I was preparing. So, I look at it from that perspective that whenever I’m thrown into a situation, I should be ready for that. I’ve been speaking to Ricky [Ponting] sir a lot. I’ve been speaking to our captain a lot because I know him. The only thing they tell me is whenever the opportunity knocks, you have to be ready and take it with both hands. So that’s what I tried to do,” Shedge said.“It’s just sometimes some batters get good balls and they get out. But my only intention was to spend as much time as I could. And that, I think, made things easier as I progressed through the innings.”Despite being his side’s best batter and getting it to a competitive 163 on a two-paced wicket, Shedge took responsibility for the loss.“That 7.5-metre length was difficult to play. I think it was a bit two-paced because of the grass and the black soil. And I think at the end of the day, if we would have saved some runs here and there, we would have ended up winning the game. But I put my hand up. I think I should have stayed there because I was set. And if I would have let that ball go [from Kagiso Rabada], things would have been different,” Shedge said.Published on May 04, 2026 #Suryansh #Shedge #stayed #longer #set")
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