Pistons showing ‘nasty’ side as win streak reaches nine

The East belongs to Detroit right now.

The Pistons pushed their win streak to nine on Friday, grinding out a 114-105 victory over the 76ers and stretching their league-best start to 11-2.

It’s their longest streak since the 2007-08 season, and they’re doing it while missing… basically everyone.

Cade Cunningham sat for the second straight night with a bruised hip. Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris and Ausar Thompson were all out with ankle issues.

Jaden Ivey still hasn’t made his season debut after preseason knee surgery. And yet Detroit keeps punching.

Isaiah Stewart did return and gave them 14 points and seven boards in 23 minutes, but this one belonged to the guys filling in the gaps — again.

The Pistons held Philadelphia to 15 points in the fourth after trailing by 12 in the third. And head coach J.B. Bickerstaff insisted none of this is a surprise.

“They’ve got a nastiness to them,” Bickerstaff said, via ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill. “They like it when it gets thick. They like it when it gets messy and ugly.

“We’ve got a bunch of nasty dogs in that locker room, and they love it.”

Two-way guard Daniss Jenkins continues to turn into one of the best stories of the early season.

He buried a buzzer-beating heave from beyond half court to end the third, pulling Detroit within two and lighting up the building.

The Pistons knocked down a season-high 17 threes and shot better than 41 percent from deep.

From there, they took control, beating the Sixers for the second time in six days.

Jenkins finished with 19 points and eight assists in 35 minutes, trading buckets all night with fellow Dallas native Tyrese Maxey, who scored 31.

Philly, meanwhile, was without Joel Embiid and Paul George as both recover from knee issues.

Jenkins has been cooking all week. He forced overtime against Washington on Monday with a corner three, dropped 24 in that one, then followed with 18 and 12 assists against Chicago.

“I’m not gonna lie. I can’t tell you my sauce,” Jenkins said. “But we are all nasty dogs. Nasty boys.”

The Pistons look for 10 straight on Monday when they host Indiana, which is tied for the East’s worst record.