NBA Scores: The sad Mavericks can’t even beat a young Pistons team

Time for a confession: I did not watch last night’s game between the Detroit Pistons and the Dallas Mavericks live. I would have, if not for the fact that my standing appointment to endure heart palpitations on behalf of the Buffalo Bills was rescheduled from its typical Sunday time slot to Thursday evening. With apologies to Marvin Bagley III and Maxi Kleber, I felt that they could be moved to the back burner in favor of watching my lord and savior Josh Allen torch the New England Patriots. I still feel good about my decision. (No, I would not have felt good about it had the Bills lost. This is an incredibly black-and-white situation.)

But I did do my due diligence and rewatch the Pistons-Mavericks game this morning, having avoided any notifications related to the game and without knowing the outcome. And I was pleasantly surprised to find a thriller on my hands. Even if it wasn’t on the same level as recent appointment viewing — like Tuesday’s Mavs-Warriors game that came down to the wire or Monday night’s Pacers-Lakers tilt, which ended on a buzzer-beater from rookie Andrew Nembhard, of all players — watching Killian Hayes put the pieces of a complete game together to take down Luka Doncic fits the thriller bill for me.

It was never a question for me, whether or not I would be watching Bills-Patriots or Pistons-Mavericks. I don’t miss a Bills game; I plan on haunting their facility’s grounds long after I’m gone. But despite exercising caution when it came to being optimistic, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from that game. The Bills were the superior team going in, with the superior quarterback and offensive talent around him, and they won because of it.

But that’s what makes watching the NBA on a nightly (or, in today’s case, morningly) basis so exhilarating: Even with the knowledge that Luka Doncic played for one team and not the other, I had no idea what to expect from Detroit-Dallas. On any given night, the basket could all but close up for one team and its superstar. Maybe one team defends better than the other, leading to an ugly but convincing win. Or, in this case, perhaps the lesser team shows up to play, fights to send the game to overtime, and pulls out a shocker thanks to its fifth or sixth-best player.

Which is exactly what happened on this given night, one on which there was just one game, an overtime spectacle that showed us exactly what makes the NBA so beautiful. Let’s get to the recap already; I’m starting to get emotional.

In Detroit’s best win of the season, Killian Hayes had the best game of his career. He scored 22 points on 13 shots, and dished out eight assists while turning it over just twice. Then, in overtime, he hit back-to-back threes with the game hanging in the balance to seal the win for the Pistons.

Talk about clutch. (Or should I say, klutch? Is that taken?)

After much discussion over whether or not the former seventh-overall pick fit the bill to be an effective NBA rotation player, Hayes is finally putting together a stretch that proves he still has a shot to be special. Over his last 12 games, he’s averaging 12.1 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He’s shooting 38 percent from three during that stretch, too — clearly, the extra time in the gym is paying off in big ways. Hayes is still just averaging 7.9 points per game this season, a far cry from what he’s been expected to provide so far in his time in Detroit. But if this stretch can persist, Hayes can be relied on. (And remember: He’s only 21!)

Luka Doncic had 35 in the loss, as his Mavericks fall to 10-11 and 1-8 on the road. That’s the worst road record this season aside from the Orlando Magic (1-9). Good job being better than Orlando! Sad.

The Pistons are 6-18, but man, at least they are they fun to watch.