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Bickerstaff hails Pistons for doing 'something special' after clinching division title

12h09 CEST

01/04/2026

Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff says his team have done something special after clinching their first Central Division title in 18 years.

The Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors 127-116 on Tuesday and improved to 6-2 without star Cade Cunningham, who remains sidelined by a lung injury.

Jalen Duren had 31 points and nine rebounds, while Daniss Jenkins had 21, and Duncan Robinson added 19 points.

And it helped secure the Pistons their first division title since 2007-08, the last of four consecutive triumphs in the Central Division.

The Pistons are now 55-21 for the season, sitting top of the Eastern Conference, and Bickerstaff was thrilled with how much progress they have made.

"You take pride in understanding how hard it is to do these things in this league," Bickerstaff said.

"You take pride in the fact that you have a group of young men who have grown and achieved certain milestones.

"It's a part of the process, and we expect more.

"We knew we were trying to do something special this year. It's great to accomplish something like this, but we have our eyes on the playoffs and doing some damage there. We'll celebrate this and get back to work [on Wednesday]."

Duren is averaging 23.4 points and 10.5 rebounds in seven games since Cunningham sustained his injury, while he got his 31 points on 12-of-13 shooting against the Raptors.

"He's so talented," Bickerstaff added of Duren. "He's a different kind of big that you see in the NBA.

"You have space-up bigs and post-up bigs, but when you have somebody who can do both, he's a problem for people."

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