Pistons team effort holds off Thunder on Westbrook’s big night
By Cary Gahm
After a rough road trip, the Detroit Pistons returned to the Palace of Auburn Hills to protect their perfect home record against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After a rough road trip, the Detroit Pistons returned to the Palace of Auburn Hills to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. They needed a win to protect their perfect home record and try to stay above .500 on the season. Just before tipoff, that task would be made significantly more difficult when the Pistons announced Andre Drummond would be joining Reggie Jackson in street clothes on the bench as he recovers from an ankle injury.
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The Pistons, however, didn’t miss a beat. After a competitive first quarter, Detroit’s second unit was able to push the lead to 38-29 early in the second. The Thunder, however, were not done yet. Late in the second, Russell Westbrook unleashed a ferocious attack going on a personal 10-1 run of his own to end the first half with 25 points.
In the second half the Thunder would make a few runs and keep the game within striking distance, but in the end, the Pistons proved to be too much behind, 22 points from Harris, 20 from Aron Baynes and 17 from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, finished with 33 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists. He was the only Thunder player to finish in double-digits scoring.
With this win, the Pistons improve to 6-5 on the season, while remaining perfect at home (5-0). In addition to that, the Pistons home defense was as stifling as ever, allowing only 88 points and keeping all five of their home opponents under 90 points.
Below is the individual analysis and grades for all Pistons who played tonight.
B. Ish Smith had a nice game, he scored 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 30 minutes of play. He pushed the tempo on offense and used his explosive first step to get to the basket with ease. He shot 4-8 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line. The biggest effect he had on the game was running Russell Westbrook and <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH
B+. Although Caldwell-Pope did not play an overly efficient game, shooting 7-17 from the field and 1-4 from three-point line, he did bring great energy to the game. Caldwell-Pope scored 17 points and added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. He came out firing on all cylinders early, hitting his first three shots which included a three from deep. As the game wore on, his offense slowed a bit, but he managed to maintain high energy chasing Westbrook all over the court, hustling to force him into a bad technical foul and a crunch time charge. Although Westbrook scored 25 points in the first half, KCP’s harassing defense and hustle helped to hold him to only 8 in the second.. SG. Detroit Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE
C. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS
A. <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS
My pick for player of the game, <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. ARON BAYNES. A+
<a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons. JON LEUER. B-
D+. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
<a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons. BENO UDRIH. B+
C. Detroit Pistons. BOBAN MARJANOVIC. C. With Drummond out, it was clear <a rel=
Inc.. <a rel=. SG. Detroit Pistons. DARRUN HILLIARD
Similar to Hilliard, Ellenson only played just over a minute. During that time he played decent post defense against Sabonis and forced a dribble-pullup from about ten feet that fell short. I look forward to seeing more of Ellenson, but we didn’t see enough to give him a grade tonight.. PF/C. Detroit Pistons. HENRY ELLENSON. Inc.
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A. After a long road trip, you don’t look forward to playing one of the best players in the league without your two best players, and if you do, you don’t normally expect a win. That, however, is exactly what Coach Van Gundy did. He stayed on top of the team tonight. He pushed the players to get out to an early lead and keep it. Most impressively, he could be heard verbally pushing his players through a stretch, late in the fourth, when both teams combined to miss 13 of 14 straight shots. All in all, this win has to be chalked up to coaching and excellent game management.. Head Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY