Philly native Jalen Duren learning on the fly in first playoff series with upstart Detroit Pistons

NEW YORK — Jalen Duren crouched at the iconic Knicks logo at center court, a moment of internal calm before tipoff inside a rowdy Madison Square Garden.

Then, Duren threw down a thunderous putback dunk on the Detroit Pistons’ first offensive possession, which coach J.B. Bickerstaff said set his team’s tone for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Knicks.

Following a disappointing Game 1 performance, Duren was an inside force in Monday’s 100-94 victory that evened their first-round series, 1-1, and gave Detroit its first playoff victory since 2008 — almost 17 years ago. Duren, the Sharon Hill native who played two high school seasons at Roman Catholic, totaled 12 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks for a Pistons team missing injured big man Isaiah Stewart. And the bounce-back outing illustrated why Duren, in his third NBA season, is representative of this upstart Pistons group learning about postseason life on the fly.

“I understood that I was going to be leaned on,” Duren said postgame. “… But I feel like my job is the same every night: to go out there and try to dominate the boards on both ends, be our anchor in the defense, just help the guys out. The role really didn’t change.”

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Bickerstaff also used the word “dominant” to describe the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Duren’s play in the paint on both ends. Shortly after that putback slam, he attacked the Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns for a finish at the rim. Later in the first quarter, Duren ran the floor, collected a pass from Cade Cunningham, and drew a foul. Duren also grabbed an offensive board that led to a tip-in by former Sixer Tobias Harris, who also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Yet Duren’s part in a schematic defensive tweak has been one of this series’ early storylines.

After primarily guarding Towns during the Pistons’ regular-season matchups against New York, Duren again was more of a “roamer” while assigned to Josh Hart on Monday night. That shifted Harris onto the All-Star Towns, who did not take a shot in the fourth quarter.

And that adjustment for Duren, he said, “puts me in a better spot to change shots and challenge shots.” Early on, Hart appeared to have a clear path to the basket before Duren blocked him from behind. And in the fourth quarter, Duren swatted a Jalen Brunson floater, then forced a jump ball on the All-NBA point guard and former Villanova star.

Fellow former Sixer Paul Reed also helped fill Detroit’s frontcourt void, finishing with six points on 3-of-4 shooting in 11 minutes, 6 seconds. The relentless 25-year-old did not play in Game 1 and had spotty rotation minutes throughout the regular season. But Reed did enter Monday with 32 games of playoff experience — including in the Garden last year. His crucial sequence arrived in exactly one minute of game action, when he converted a cutting layup, grabbed a rebound, and finished a tip-in to put Detroit up, 88-75, with 7:10 to play.

“I’ve been here before,” Reed said, “so I know how to stay composed during hard times. Tensions are high. Teammates are yelling at me sometimes. I know how to stay poised.”

Reed on Monday called the 21-year-old Duren his “little brother, for real,” and noted that Duren wraps him in a bear hug as they line up for the national anthem before every game.

Duren’s Game 2 outing was built on a regular season defined by consistency, Bickerstaff said. That occurred after Duren had been surrounded by organizational instability — and heaps of losses — since being drafted 13th overall out of Memphis in 2022.

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Bickerstaff, who helped develop Cleveland Cavaliers standout big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, was Duren’s third coach in three NBA seasons. Still, Duren was a 2023 All-Rookie second-teamer, and part of USA Basketball’s Select Team the last two summers. Last season, he averaged 13.8 points and 11.6 rebounds in 61 games for a Pistons team that went 14-68.

Before the Pistons’ Oct. 30 game at the Sixers, Bickerstaff was already pleased with how Duren had picked up the staff’s defensive concepts. The coach laid out three overarching tasks for the more traditional big man: protect the paint, rebound, and use the pick-and-roll to put offensive pressure on the rim. Duren “found his niche,” Bickerstaff said. He still averaged a double-double (11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds) but increased his field-goal percentage to 69.2% and upped his blocks to 1.1 per game during the Pistons’ dramatic regular-season turnaround.

But when asked what he is most proud of in his development this season, Duren pointed to the Pistons’ teamwide ascent.

“Every which way I was able to grow,” Duren said while walking to the team bus following Monday’s shootaround, “was based off of my teammates and my surroundings and the organization. I think I’m just proud of where we’re going and the direction that we’re all headed in.”

The playoffs, though, require an increased level of intensity and focus that most can only absorb through experience. That was the case in Game 1 for Duren, who finished with seven points and six rebounds in 24:43.

He picked up his third foul about midway through Saturday’s second quarter, and got called for multiple defensive three-second violations. Yet a fourth-quarter sequence flashed Duren’s talent, when he delivered an offensive rebound to Cunningham, got the ball back, and then lofted a pass to Ausar Thompson for a highlight and-one finish at the 10:45 mark.

Bickerstaff said following Sunday’s film session that he expected more out of Duren, “and I know he’ll give us more.” Duren has welcomed that accountability from his coach all season, saying, “that’s why I feel like we’ve gotten along.”

“He pushes me,” Duren said. “He doesn’t accept no B.S.”

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Monday’s victory still featured some teaching moments for Duren, particularly down the stretch.

He committed his fourth foul on an ill-advised screen, and a fifth while battling Hart for a rebound underneath the basket. He fumbled a pass with his team clinging to a two-point lead with 1:28 remaining. But Duren also elevated for an alley-oop dunk that put the Pistons up, 94-90. Later, he secured the game’s final rebound, before finishing off the victory at the free-throw line.

That moment also required internal calm. It was the latest step for Duren, as he anchors the upstart Pistons.

“I’ll continue to learn and grow throughout this whole playoff run,” Duren said, “and it’s only going to make me a better player.”