Klay Thompson played 20 minutes on Saturday night. He scored 26 points in them.
That is more than a point a minute, on 10 of 17 shooting with six 3-pointers in 11 tries, and it is the line that turned a close game into a 137-117 Miami Heat win over the Detroit Pistons. Giannis Antetokounmpo had the bigger box score (34 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists on 13 of 17 shooting), but Miami was plus-15 in Thompson's minutes and led by as many as 20.
The game drew 19,658 to Kaseya Center, according to the ESPN box score. The Heat are 7-6 and won on back-to-back nights after beating Cleveland 133-121 on Friday. The Pistons fell to 8-4.
Miami Blocked 14 Shots, and Nine Different Heat Players Had One
Detroit grabbed 22 offensive rebounds and took 97 shots, 10 more than Miami. It made 39 of them. The Heat blocked 14, with Antetokounmpo getting three and Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell and Myron Gardner two each. Nine Heat players had at least one.
The stops turned into running. Miami outscored Detroit 28-11 on the fast break and had 34 assists on 44 baskets. Mitchell finished with 15 points and nine assists, and Adebayo added 20 points and three steals.
Cade Cunningham's 33 Came on 8 of 20 Shooting
Detroit led 39-37 after one quarter. Miami won the second quarter 31-21 and the third 35-26. Cade Cunningham scored 33 with eight assists and went 14 of 14 at the line, but he shot 8 of 20 from the field, and the Pistons shot 40 percent as a team.
Miami hosts Houston on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Detroit visits San Antonio on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. More pro coverage is on the BallerTube NBA page.