Norm Powell’s career night ultimately meant the game was clinched by the right player: Saddiq Bey. It looked like Jerami Grant’s tough 17-footer with 7.7 seconds left had finally vanquished the Toronto Raptors on a night star guards Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry combined to miss 22 of their 26 shots.
That’s what the Pistons thought, too. “Dagger,” Grant mouthed to Bey as they celebrated what became a 116-112 win over Toronto, the second time this month the Pistons have beaten Dwane Casey’s ex-team.
Powell’s eighth 3-pointer of the game, giving him 43 points, a few seconds later meant the Pistons weren’t out of the woods just yet, though.
But their cool-headed first-rounder would lead them out of there a few seconds later, stoically draining a pair of free throws to cap another night to press between the pages of his rookie memory book.
“We shoot those every day,” he said after his heroics led the Pistons win. “Just step up there and have a clear mind and try to close the game out. That was the thought process.”
Bey finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 6 of 10 3-pointers as he opened a lead over No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards for most made triples among all NBA rookies, now up to 85.
Casey wasn’t the least big surprised that Bey, 21, was unfazed by having the game in his hands at the foul line to cap his big night.
“He’s like this,” Casey said, holding his hand out and moving it along a flat plain to show Bey avoids typical rookie ups and downs. He said he got on Bey “pretty hard” at halftime for not taking away more of Powell’s go-to repertoire “and he responded in the second half. What impressed me was some of the big-time rebounds he got in a crowd. He went up and snatched them. I was proud of him for that.”
Mason Plumlee, who helped the Pistons to a 54-30 rebounding edge by grabbing 14 to go with 10 points, would only have been surprised if Bey had shown any fear when he stepped to the line to ice the win.
“At this point, I just kind of expect it,” Plumlee said. “It’s appreciated. But I’m not surprised.”
Bey showed a little of everything in the win, including his progress as a finisher inside. Even without the 18 points from the 3-point arc, Bey still scored 10 points and got to the line six times, making all six on a night the Pistons hit 28 of 32.
“Being more versatile,” he said. “That’s what used to help me in college – try to find ways to stay aggressive and play at all three levels. I’ve just got to get back to it.”
The six made threes were great, but don’t overlook the 10 attempts. On a Pistons team searching for 3-point shooting with Wayne Ellington missing his second straight game, getting those attempts up to keep defenses honest is half the battle. And rookies aren’t supposed to adapt to the greater NBA 3-point distance and the speed of closing defenders to dissuade those shots with the ease of Bey.
Casey credited his lower-half strength and compared him to a player on the old Seattle teams he coached as an assistant to George Karl, Hersey Hawkins, for his ability to get the shot off quickly and not have to jump high to get it off.
“He has such a solid base,” Casey said. “He’s got strong legs, strong hips. The problem young players have coming into the league, they want to use their legs and by the second quarter, those legs say, nuh-uh, not tonight. As long as you shoot the 3-point shot like (Bey), you have a little more margin for error. His base helps him be a solid, consistent 3-point shooter.”
Bey had plenty in the way of co-stars. Grant finished with 23. Ex-Raptors guard Delon Wright flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Josh Jackson was superb off the bench with 16 points, five rebounds and six assists. And Bey’s fellow rookie, Isaiah Stewart, chipped in 10 points and four rebounds and raised eyebrows by draining his only two 3-point attempts.
But it was Bey’s night and, fittingly, it was in his hands to close it out.
“He’s a sponge,” Casey said. “You almost have to keep him out of the gym as far as working on his game. He’s just a solid pro and he’s going to be a star in this league for a long, long time.”