Detroit Pistons fall to pieces as Indiana Pacers take 115-98 win
Despite being within two-points midway through the third quarter the Detroit Pistons suffered a 115-98 loss at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
The Detroit Pistons got off to a typically sluggish start against the Pacers, but appeared to shake it off during the second quarter and for half of the third.
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Unfortunately they slipped back into poor habits and ended up showing little fight as the Pacers ran away with a huge victory that gave them clear ownership of the sixth seed for the moment.
The loss sees the Pistons record fall to 31-33, but still sit ahead of the Chicago Bulls in the standings thanks to their lass at the hands of the Orlando Magic.
Tobias Harris and Stanley Johnson were the most impressive performers for the Pistons.
Indiana’s bench unit gives up the third most points per game in the league and it showed as Harris and Johnson took over immediately after checking into the game.
Harris was the team’s leading scorer with 22 points and also added 5 rebounds, while Johnson wasn’t far behind with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
Jon Leuer (15 points), Andre Drummond (14 points, 15 rebounds) and Marcus Morris (10 points) all reached double-digits too.
These contributions weren’t nearly enough, with Paul George continuing his great form against the Pistons as he put up 21 points (7 of 12 shooting) and 8 rebounds.
REGGIE JACKSON. F. After his recent performances made it seem like the old <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons
SG. Detroit Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. D-. Knetavious Caldwell-Pope was almost non-existent, however it’s not entirely his fault. He took just 4 shots in his 26 minutes of game time and made just one of them. A shooter like Caldwell-Pope should be getting far more than 4 looks for a game. He also didn’t contribute much in other areas, although he did have an incredible chase down block in the final quarter despite the game being out of reach, so you can’t knock his hustle.
MARCUS MORRIS. D-. Marcus Morris had a shooting night he’d like to forget. He managed to force he way into double-digits, but it came on an ugly 4 of 13 shooting. His three-point shooting was particularly bad, going 1 of 5 for the night. To top it off, Morris was a team-low -20 in plus/minus.. SF. Detroit Pistons
B. Jon Leuer was one of the Pistons’ more efficient scorers on a night where there were a number of horribly inefficient performances. He had 15 points on 7 of 13 shooting, but unfortunately continued his underwhelming shooting from deep as he went 1 of 3. Leuer also pulled in 4 rebounds and had the best plus/minus of any of the Pistons’ starters (-5).. PF. Detroit Pistons. JON LEUER
Andre Drummond had a solid night against the Pacers and unquestionably out-performed <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. B+
ISH SMITH. C-. It was a bad night to be a point guard for the Pistons. <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons
A-. Stanley Johnson showed just how good he can be when given the chance. Johnson attacked the Pacers’ defensively weak bench from the get-go and what resulted was a fantastic performance. He ended the game with 17 points while shooting 58.3 per cent, while going 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.. SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS. A. At this point Tobias Harris has to be a serious Sixth Man of the Year contender. While <a rel=. PF
C-. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. AARON BAYNES
REGGIE BULLOCK. D-. You’d be excused for thinking <a rel=. SG/SF. Detroit Pistons
BOBAN MARJANOVIC. B+. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons