Donovan Mitchell Forced to Play Peacemaker as 20YO Jalen Duren Goes After Georges Niang in Fiery Exchange

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally rebounded with a 110-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons tonight. It seems like Mitchell‘s belief in the guys wasn’t for nothing. But it did not stop the legendary ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons from getting into a heated spat. Somewhat heated. Georges Niang and Jalen Duren got into it during the fourth quarter of the game.

Duren was driving to the basket for a shot defended by Mitchell when, at the last minute, Niang swatted the ball away. It did not sit well with the 20-year-old center.

Mitchell takes the role of “peacemaker” between Jalen Duren and Niang

While the veteran forward and Duren were engaged in a passionate verbal spat, Mitchell was trying to keep everyone calm. This season is fraught with players getting physical, ejected, and suspended. He did not need unnecessary attention, especially when it came to the Pistons.

The Pistons’ need for every shot is understandable. Holding the highest loss this season, they were hoping to snap their 17-game losing streak tonight. So, to lose a highly likely shot at the very last moment is frustrating. That could be the reason why Duren had a stare-off before Niang decided to use words.

But the Buckeye State was looking to rebound from a terrible loss themselves. The Portland defeat was too much for the ‘City of Champions’ to bear. And the ‘Spida’ was determined to weave a web that ensured their opponents would be trapped.

The Cavs present the Pistons their 18th loss

Strus and Garland were wonder-twins as they handed Motown their 18th loss of the season. Scoring 22 points each, the pair lead the scoreboard in assists as well (five each). Unsurprisingly, the Pistons were trying to outscore their opponents in typical Detroit fashion.

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Talking about their gameplay, Straus said, “That was a physical game. You could tell they were trying to earn one, and all respect to them. They played hard and they crashed the glass.” It was indeed a close game at times. The fact that the Motor City would do anything to break their terrible luck was apparent tonight.

The second half saw the Pistons take the lead with a 10-0 run to bring the lead to 58-54. The Cavs hit back with an 11-0 run to get the lead back to 81-77. By the fourth quarter, Detroit was 96-92, courtesy of Jaden Ivey’s free throw with 6:01 left on the clock.

But Bogdanovic missed a three-pointer that could have tied them with Cleveland with 3:29 left. And with Duren missing two free throws, it was a done deal for the Pistons.

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