Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault hailed his side's performance in their defeat to the Detroit Pistons as their injury problems mount up.

The reigning NBA champions lost 124-116 to the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, with Detroit's 42-14 record on the season the best of any team.

OKC were already without star man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell and Chet Holmgren, who are their four leading scorers this season.

And their injury list grew as Isaiah Joe, their fifth-top scorer this term, could not return for the second half due to a hip problem.

Despite taking a 34-22 lead in the first quarter, OKC were overwhelmed in the next two as Detroit outscored them 72-46 to all but secure victory.

Nevertheless, Daigneault was impressed with what he saw from the Thunder, especially from forward Jaylin Williams, who scored a career-high 30 points and recorded 11 rebounds.

"He showed great toughness and, obviously, great offense," Daigneault said of Williams.

"We really flowed through him, and against a team that really pressures like Detroit, he was a great help for us."

A resilient effort on the road. pic.twitter.com/1wtoyHGSEF

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2026

"We obviously had the wind in our faces a little out there tonight. I thought it was a really good effort by the guys who played to gut that one out.

"The game got away from us a little bit in the third, and it looked like it was going to be a runaway. But our guys did a great job of getting back into it."

Losing to the Pistons is nothing to be ashamed about, as Detroit are looking to become just the second NBA team ever to go from the worst record to the best in two seasons or less (Baltimore Bullets, 1966-67 to 1968-69).

Gilgeous-Alexander will be desperate to get back on the court sooner rather than later, with the reigning MVP only able to miss six more games if he is to remain eligible for the postseason awards.