Down 3-1 to Magic, Jalen Duren still thinks Pistons are "the better team"

A frustrating series for Jalen Duren got worse Monday night when Jamal Cain put him on a poster with a thunderous dunk in the fourth quarter of the Magic's 94-88 win over the Pistons that pushed Detroit to the brink of elimination.

Duren was once again outplayed by Orlando big man Wendell Carter Jr., who has more points and rebounds than Detroit's All-Star center and half as many turnovers through four games of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Pistons were minus-11 with Duren on the floor in Game 4, while the Magic were plus-17 with Carter Jr. on the floor.

"We’ve yet to put a full game together, even a full half together of what we can look like," Duren told reporters after the game. "Everything was self-inflicted, top to bottom. We just have to be better, and we will. I have faith in the guys in this locker room, have faith in the coaching staff, I know what type of team we have."

The Pistons committed twice as many turnovers (20) as the Magic and yielded 16 offensive rebounds on Monday, which led to 39 of Orlando's points. Duren had a sizable hand in that, with four turnovers and another quiet night, by his standards, on the glass. He was one of several culprits in Detroit's sluggish start that allowed Orlando to race out to a 17-5 lead in the first five minutes, aided by six Pistons turnovers.

"Our confidence will always stay the same," said Duren. "Just too many turnovers, bro. They’re scoring off of our mistakes. The whole series we’ve just been shooting ourselves in the foot. We just gotta clean that up, man. I still think we’re the better team from top to bottom, but we can’t dig ourselves in a hole, and then now we’re fighting ourselves, that team, the refs. We just gotta be better."

A walking double-double during his breakout season, Duren has been held to single-digit rebounds in four straight games -- something that didn't happen once this season until the Pistons lightened his minutes after clinching the 1 seed. After averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the regular season, Duren is down to 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds this series.

"Just trying to be effective elsewhere. It’s not all about scoring," Duren said. "For me, I’m just trying to affect the game in many ways, whether it be defensively, or it be getting guys open, setting good screens, getting on the glass however I can. It ain’t really all about scoring for me."

The Pistons don't seem to have an answer for Orlando's defensive strategy of packing the paint against Duren and swarming Cade Cunningham. Detroit's supporting players have failed to make enough shots around those two to space the floor. Asked about Duren's struggles to get going, J.B. Bickerstaff was left repeating himself after Game 4: "Again, it’s the bodies that they put in the paint, the amount of people and attention that they’re putting on him."

"Give them credit," he said. "But again, we gotta make sure we’re taking advantage of the opportunities where we can, to get him his touches when he is open."

Down 3-1 in the series, the Pistons come home for Game 5 with their season on the line. They are in real jeopardy of becoming the third team in NBA history to win 60 games in the regular season and lose in the first round of the playoffs.

But they aren't about to surrender.

"We’re going to come out punching," said Bickerstaff. "That I can promise you. We’re not going to lay down for everybody. It’s one game at home, and that’s what your focus is on. You gotta go home and win one game. That’s where our mindset is."