In a thrilling NBA Cup group play game, the Detroit Pistons clinched their first-ever NBA Cup victory by edging out the Miami Heat 123-121 in overtime on Tuesday night. The game’s final moments were marked by drama and a costly Miami mistake—a phantom timeout call that led to a technical foul and a crucial free throw for Detroit.
With just 1.8 seconds left in overtime, Tyler Herro, who put on a sensational performance for Miami with 40 points, nailed a jumper to give the Heat a 121-119 lead. After a timeout, the Pistons executed a precise play as Cade Cunningham found Jalen Duren on an alley-oop inbounds pass, tying the game at 121. But in the ensuing chaos, the Heat made a costly error by calling a timeout they didn’t have, leading to an automatic technical foul. Malik Beasley stepped to the line and calmly sank the free throw with 1.1 seconds left to put the Pistons ahead 122-121. With just 0.1 seconds left, Beasley added another free throw to seal Detroit’s dramatic 123-121 win.
Beasley and Cunningham were pivotal for the Pistons, each contributing 21 points. Detroit, which went 0-4 in last year’s NBA Cup, finally marked a win in the group stage with a combination of strong team play and late-game composure.
Meanwhile, Herro was electric for Miami, scoring 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter and overtime alone. His three-point shooting kept Miami competitive, particularly in a nail-biting fourth quarter where he shot 6-for-9 from the field, including 6-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Miami suffered an early setback when Nikola Jovic was forced out in the first quarter due to a reduced septum from a collision with Beasley. Jovic, visibly bloodied after Beasley’s jaw collided with his nose and mouth, left the game early and did not return.
The game saw another lengthy delay in the third quarter when Pistons forward Tim Hardaway Jr. was injured after a hard collision with Herro and Jalen Duren. Hardaway was already down when Duren’s knee inadvertently struck his head, resulting in Hardaway being taken off the court in a wheelchair following medical attention.
The Pistons led by as many as 18 points early in the second quarter, looking poised to dominate. However, Miami stormed back with a 23-4 run led by Bam Adebayo, Herro, and Duncan Robinson, putting the Heat up 44-43 with just over four minutes left in the half. This momentum shift kept Miami competitive all the way through the end, setting up an intense finish.
The Pistons are back in action on Wednesday, facing the Milwaukee Bucks, as they aim to build on this NBA Cup momentum. Meanwhile, the Heat have a few days to regroup before back-to-back games against the Indiana Pacers on Friday and Sunday.
This victory, Detroit’s first in the NBA Cup series, highlighted both the Pistons’ resilience and the high stakes of every group-stage game. The late-game tension and Miami’s costly mistake underscored the importance of split-second decisions and cool heads under pressure, setting the stage for a competitive NBA Cup season.
