The Detroit Pistons beat the Charlotte Hornets 124-91 on Monday night, Nov. 2, and moved to 6-1. The record is good. The number that sets them apart is on the other end of the floor.

Detroit allows 100.3 points per game, the lowest in the NBA. Philadelphia is next at 105.1, 4.8 points higher. The league average is 113.4.

Points per game allowed below the league average of 113.4

Only Houston (+103), Minnesota (+91) and Memphis (+90) have a bigger scoring margin than Detroit’s +81, which works out to +11.6 per game.

The Pistons have lost once. Here is how the seven games went.

1. Oct. 20Beat Boston 121-113 at home. Jalen Duren scored 22, Cade Cunningham 22 and Duncan Robinson 21, and Detroit outscored the Celtics 39-25 in the fourth quarter.
2. Oct. 23Won 128-111 at Miami after a 41-point first quarter. John Collins had 23 and Paul Reed 19.
3. Oct. 25Won 106-93 at Philadelphia, the 76ers' only loss. Cunningham scored 26, and the 76ers shot 7 of 27 from three.
4. Oct. 27Lost 111-97 at New York. Detroit led 38-25 after one quarter, then scored 25 points in the middle two quarters to the Knicks' 63.
5. Oct. 28Won 97-89 over Charlotte at home, the second night of a back-to-back. Cunningham scored 30.
6. Oct. 30Won 110-94 at Brooklyn behind a 31-7 run in the third quarter and 14 steals.
7. Nov. 2Won 124-91 at Charlotte. Cunningham scored 33, 17 of them in the third quarter, and the Hornets were held to 91.

Add up the seven box scores and one quarter stands out. Detroit has outscored its opponents by 36 points in the third quarter, a margin of 5.1 per game, and won it in five of seven games.

Detroit's scoring margin by quarter, seven games

The second quarter is the soft spot. The Pistons lost it in four of the seven games, including a 26-12 hole at New York. They won it by 14 at Brooklyn and by 8 at Charlotte.

Four of the seven opponents were held under 95 points: Philadelphia (93), Charlotte (89), Brooklyn (94) and Charlotte again (91). Only Boston (113) and New York (111) topped 110.

Opponent field-goal percentage by game

The defense sets the floor and Cunningham sets the ceiling. He averages 23.7 points, 7.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 32.6 minutes, and he scored 33 on Monday in only 27 minutes.

Cunningham's points by game

He is not alone. Robinson is next at 17.9 per game, and the scoring spreads out from there.

Points per game, Detroit's top scorers

Duren scored 22 in the opener and played 10 minutes at Miami on Oct. 23. He has not played since. He is listed out again with a hamstring injury, and guard Isaiah Joe is out with a hip injury.

The Pistons are 2-0 in the games Duren played and 4-1 in the five since.

The rebounding gap is the cost. Overall Detroit has been outrebounded only 313-312, but opponents have taken 94 offensive boards to its 78.

Detroit plays Philadelphia at home on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. ET. The 76ers are 7-1 and +46, and their only loss came against these Pistons, 106-93 in Philadelphia on Oct. 25.

1. Oct. 20Won 106-100 at New York.
2. Oct. 22Beat Cleveland 114-106.
3. Oct. 24Beat Milwaukee 127-116.
4. Oct. 25Lost 106-93 to Detroit, shooting 36 of 90 overall and 7 of 27 from three. 93 is their lowest total of the season.
5. Oct. 28Won 114-109 at Indiana.
6. Oct. 30Beat New York 98-93.
7. Oct. 31Won 109-104 at Charlotte.
8. Nov. 2Beat Chicago 126-107. Joel Embiid returned with 15 points and 8 rebounds in 25 minutes.

After Philadelphia, the Pistons host the Lakers on Sunday, Nov. 8, then Washington on Monday, Nov. 9, and visit the Wizards on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Last season Detroit won 60 games, took the East’s No. 1 seed and finished one game short of the conference finals, losing Game 7 to Cleveland 125-94 at home. J.B. Bickerstaff was named Coach of the Year.

Seven games into this one, the pattern is the same one that built that team: a defense that sets the pace, a third quarter that decides games, and a lead guard who closes them. Wednesday gives the league’s best defense a first look at the league’s other 7-1 team.