Jan 17, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke (3) moves the ball and is defended by Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) in the second half at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Utah won 110-89. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
– Trey Burke (20 points, career-high 12 assists) leads his Utah Jazz to a road victory in his homecoming back to Michigan. Jazz, with another win, are now (55-32) all-time against Detroit as they continue their brilliance over the Pistons.
The night started out with such a positive vibe, before the Jazz forwards, Richard Jefferson (13 points in 27 minutes) and Marvin Williams (17 points, 22 minutes) shot the lights out at The Palace in another depressing home loss for Detroit.
The Pistons started off the game with a lot of energy and good ball movement in the first quarter as they matched the energy provided by the Jazz, the Pistons found themselves trailing 27-25 after one, despite the 11 first quarter points by sixth man Rodney Stuckey (21 points, 6 rebounds). But, the second quarter was no fun for Piston fans.
The Jazz continued their spectacular shooting on the perimeter in the second, headed by forwards Jefferson and Williams, along with a few key baskets by rookie sensation and hometown hero Trey Burke, whom the Pistons passed on at number eight in the 2013 Draft for shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. KCP finished with a mere 5 points in 23 minutes of action.
Utah finished the second period on an 8-0 spurt to push the Jazz lead to double-figures headed to the break, 58-45. Enes Kanter lead the way in the second quarter with 15 first half points along with 4 boards, and 2 assists. The Jazz outscored Detroit 31-20 in the second quarter.
The Pistons, like they usually do when they fall behind big in the first half, came out flat, out of the gate to start the third quarter. The Jazz ran their lead up to as much as 17 in the first few minutes, leading Head Coach Maurice Cheeks to prematurely pull his starters for a more energetic second unit.
Trey Burke came alive in the second half to finish off Detroit, as the Jazz continued their first half dominance into the third quarter, outscoring the Pistons 31-20 in the quarter, good for a 89-65 deficit heading into the final quarter of play, where Detroit did not do much.
The reserves played the majority of the quarter as the Pistons outscored the Jazz 24-21 in the fourth, losing by a final score of 110-89 in another home loss.
Greg Monroe and Josh Smith both played under 25 minutes Friday night, as neither seemed to be engaged at all throughout the contest. Moose played a season low 15 minutes for Detroit, Josh only 23 minutes of action.
The Pistons will look to put this one in the back burner Saturday night as they face a red-hot Washington Wizards (19-19) team in Washington. The Wizards have a (2-1) edge in the season series, and Detroit would like to even up the season series to help with playoff seeding if Detroit ever seems to put it together in time, thankfully Detroit plays in the East so they will likely be in the running until the final month.