Game Review: Pistons grit out win

In their second game without Rasheed Wallace, who’s out with a strained ankle, the Pistons went to overtime against a bad team — just like in a loss to the Knicks on Wednesday.

But Detroit scraped out a 99-95 win tonight in Toronto.

A second straight fourth-quarter collapse is concerning. But without Wallace, getting the win is most important.

Wallace isn’t the player he used to be, but his size and versatility aren’t easily replaced. Nobody else on the Pistons can offer what he does. Of the starters, his skill-set is hardest to replace.

So, Detroit had an uphill battle to win.

If the Pistons beat Memphis on Sunday without Wallace, I’d call the three-game stretch without him a success.

Rip roaring

Richard Hamilton had a hand in 20 of Detroit’s 24 first-quarter points. He scored four points and had eight assists for 16 more.

And he accounted for all of the Pistons’ 20 fourth-quarter pints. He scored nine and and had five assists that led to 11 points.