Ball don’t lie. The Detroit Pistons escaped with a 109-107 win after Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray biffed free throws on consecutive trips where Detroit was whistled for fouling Murray on a 3-point shot. The basketball gods are just. The Pistons were clinging to a late lead against an amped up host Denver Nuggets team. To secure the 109-107 rode win against a dangerous Denver team, the Pistons turned to a complete shocker and then to the most dependable man in the arena. First, the surprise. Duncan Robinson had one of the worst games of his young Pistons career, if not his NBA career writ large. Of his eight three-point attempts several were good looks. None went in. After a Tim Hardaway three cut the Pistons lead to one with less than a minute to play, Detroit called a timeout and drew something up for Robinson. But it wasn’t the three you were thinking or the Nuggets were expecting. They overloaded one side of the floor to create an open lane and had Robinson cut hard. He took a Javonte Green pass into the lane and dunked the ball for his first points of the night. Detroit was back up four, but Denver again cut it to one. That is when the Pistons turned to old reliable. Unc. Tobias Harris. Harris was having a vintage Tobias game. Fitting for the 1,000 game of his career. He was surveying the floor well, recognizing mismatches, and abusing defenders in the post with his patented back down and compact jumper. It’s no surprise that the Pistons put the ball in Tobias’ hands when they needed a basket most. With the clock running down, he didn’t panic. He got into position, created the space he needed, and hit the 16-foot fadeaway. The aforementioned Green (and the refs) made things more interesting than they should have been by calling Green for fouls on consecutive Jamal Murray 3-point attempts. But Murray failed to convert at the line on both trips, and Detroit escaped with the victory. Detroit had six players score in double figures and were led by Harris and Cade Cunningham with 22 points apiece. Harris was 10-of-15 from the field and served as the hero of the game for the Pistons. He delivered after every Denver run, and every time the Nuggets crowd was desperate to get back into the game. Cunningham wasn’t far behind. It looks like the wrist issue that had sapped some of his offensive effectiveness is behind him. He was 9-of-17 from the field and had 11 assists and zero turnovers. Down Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets didn’t back down all night. They played hard, smart basketball and were in the game to the bitter end. Murray led with a game-high 24 points. Detroit played solid defense on Murray, who hit some really tough shots, but he was buoyed by 15 trips to the free-throw line. A couple former Pistons, Tim Hardaway and Bruce Brown, had strong showings against their former team. Brown starred early (14 points on the night) and Hardaway hit some huge threes late (also 14 points). The Pistons moved to 34-11 and will suit up next in Phoenix to face the Suns, ...read more read less