Paul George leads the Indiana Pacers to victory against the Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons start slow and despite trimming a 20 point deficit to just 4 during the fourth quarter, leave it too late against the Indiana Pacers lead by Paul George’s efficient 30 Point performance.
The Pistons started the game like it was them and not the Pacers on the second game of a back to back, and allowed Indiana to 34 first quarter points on 75% shooting from the field. There was a drastic discrepancy in the two team’s free throw shooting through the game with the Pacers shooting 24-29 (82.8%) and the Pistons a dismal 16-31 (51.6%).
It looked like the Pistons had worked their way back into the contest after the slow start in which would have been the biggest comeback of the teams season after coming back from 18 twice and 16 once for victories earlier in the year. Just as they brought the game back to within striking distance, Andre Drummond went 2-8 from the line in the final three minutes to enable the Pacers to push their lead back towards double digits and secure the win.
112. 100. Final. 104. 64
Jackson’s lackluster defense to begin the game helped the Pacers to what became an insurmountable lead. Offensively though he was able to get almost anything he wanted. He rarely looked to make plays for others but when scoring 26 points on just 15 shots including 3-4 from the three point line it is hard to argue against. Only 2 assists and 1 turnover in 32 minutes.. PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON. B+
B+. Johnson continues to show plenty of potential when given the minutes. He started the game with two missed lay ups on easy looks and then an airball from mid range, Once settled the game came to him nicely. He works very hard at both ends, highlighted by securing 10 rebounds in this one. There are still too many occasions he can play out of control when the ball is in his hands. There were two or three times he was called for offensive fouls by simply pushing it a little too hard, can’t knock the effort though. . SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. C. All the solid work done on the offensive end was undone by a disappointing effort trying to contain Paul George. George was able to get to the line 15 times in this, hitting 14 of them, and twice got fouled by Morris when attempting a three. Morris certainly made George hit some tough shots and sometimes superstars are just going to make your defensive work look average. He did score 16 points on just 11 shots but shot only 3-6 from the line and 1-6 from behind the arc. He did lead the Pistons with 4 assists without a single turnover.
C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. C-. Drummond was quiet most of the game despite securing his 43rd Double-Double in 52 games. Drummond had 5 turnovers and just as the Pistons were working to bring the game to within a single possession went on to once again struggle from the free throw line putting an end to the Pistons hope of an amazing comeback. To his credit, he showed some pretty good body language and effort throughout despite the lack of touches on offense which as we know is not always the case.
C-. No one can honestly knock the effort and hustle of Baynes at both ends of the court. He was limited to just 11 minutes in this game and finished with 4 points, 5 rebounds and a block while only going 1-5 from the field.. C. Pistons. ARON BAYNES
ANTHONY TOLLIVER. A. Tolliver was a major factor at both ends and Stan Van Gundy kept his hot shooting on the court for 30 minutes. 17 Points on just 10 shots going 5-9 from the three point line but just 2-4 from the charity stripe. He also chipped in with 4 rebounds and 3 steals and the Pistons were +10 with him on the court.. PF. Pistons
PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA. D. Ilyasova only played 18 minutes due to a hot shooting performance by Tolliver. In that time he shot 1-8 from the field, many of which were in and out so on another day those type of shots would have gone down. Not a single rebound in 18 minutes is disappointing for the starting power forward. Myles Turner absolutely had his way with him early.
DARRUN HILLIARD II. B. I’ve been pretty impressed with Hilliard in recent times and during this game in particular. He has a certain calmness on offense and rarely takes a bad shot. He played 21 minutes and scored a career high 9 points.. SG. Pistons
It was only when checking the box score that I realised Bullock made it on the court for 3 minutes.. SG. Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK. INC
C+. Jennings only saw only saw 16 minutes of action and scored 4 points with 3 assists and a steal. He shows a willingness to get everyone involved which is important for a point guard. He would have had atleast 2 or 3 more assists if the Pistons managed to hit a couple easy looks he got them.. PG. Pistons. BRANDON JENNINGS
Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY. C-. Van Gundy has to take some responsibility for the slow start. They were playing a team on the second game of a back to back yet came out of the gates like they had themselves just played a quadruple overtime game on the west coast just 24 hours earlier. Although it seemed Drummond was being hacked during the fourth, each foul was a basketball play, they weren’t intentionally sending him to the line so Stan decided to keep him in the game which may have actually cost them. Head Coach