Detroit Pistons make big run late, beat Phoenix Suns in overtime
66. Final. 127. 64. 122
Coming off a win against Houston earlier this week, the Pistons were back at it against the Western Conference with Phoenix on Wednesday. It took a huge night from Reggie Jackson — 34 points, 16 assists — to overcome a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter but the Pistons won it in overtime
Here are the grades:
I figured it would be a while until Jackson played better than he did in Portland, but this was better. As the FSD broadcast noted, he was the first Pistons player since Isiah Thomas in 1988 to score 30-plus points and hand out 15-plus assists. Jackson also defended well on Eric Bledsoe’s final attempt in regulation, making the jumper harder without fouling. He was at his best. It was the kind of performance that earned him that huge contract last season.. PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON. A+
SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. B-. It’s hard to swallow some of these rough shooting displays, but when Caldwell-Pope plays defense like he did tonight for stretches — it’s alright. The defense fell off in overtime as Brandon Knight almost stole one from his former team, but KCP had some big makes down the stretch and played his usually-strong defense.
SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. A+. Morris had been on a stretch of inefficiency until recently, shooting and missing a lot, but tonight could have been his best game in Detroit. He scored 24 points on 10 shots, grabbed 14 rebounds and played really good defense late. He had the big steal on Knight’s lazy fourth-quarter pass to keep the Pistons alive and made another big stop on T.J. Warren’s last drive. Morris made three late free throws to ice the game away against his former team, too.
B. You would think, on a night where Phoenix is without Markieff Morris and Tyson Chandler, that Drummond would cruise. But that wasn’t the case. He struggled with the Suns screen and rolls, repeatedly getting switched to the perimeter, and that probably played into his low rebounding total. But for all his struggles at the line, he made two that sent the game to overtime with 14 seconds to go. It’s funny that he could go for 22 points and 12 rebounds and not play his best.. C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
Easily the best offensive game of his Pistons career. Ilyasova has been the team’s best shooter all year long and he continued to hit those shots tonight. Obviously, missing 2 out of 3 free throws late hurt and so did missing that great look he got in the final seconds. He was also cooked by Jon Leuer, but overall the Pistons wouldn’t have had a chance without him.. PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA. B
C. Eventually Johnson’s going to get used to playing night after night like this, but it’s going to be a roller coaster ride until then. The defense was good, the rebounding was solid but the shot wasn’t great and he was a little over-agressive at times, too. But he played better later in the game.. SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
ARON BAYNES. C+. I don’t think Baynes is ever going to wow people, but he’s solid. His shot didn’t fall tonight, but he rebounded and put himself in the right spots on the court. Baynes is smart enough player to where the talent around him makes him look better or worse. Tonight he was steady and that’s not bad.. C. Pistons
ANTHONY TOLLIVER. B-. His minutes are decreasing — likely because his shot just isn’t where it needs to be for him to be useful — but he played well in 15 minutes tonight. He hustled, per usual, and hit both shots for 5 points while grabbing 3 rebounds.. PF. Pistons
Pistons. STEVE BLAKE. D+. He was Steve Blake. Do with that what you will.. PG
B+. It’s hard to crush Van Gundy for the Pistons’ inability to defend Phoenix on the perimeter. A lot of times, that’s purely an effort thing when it comes to getting out on 3-point shooters, but the effort picked up at the right time as the Pistons rallied from that big deficit late. He put guys in the right spots and drew up a really nice play for Ilyasova in the final seconds. He missed, but it was as clean a look as you can hope for. The Pistons have now scored 100-plus in 4 of their past 5 home games. I don’t know if that’s Van Gundy or if it’s just a bunch of guys shooting way below norm finally progressing, but it’s been a constant at The Palace. Detroit has a very winnable stretch of games upcoming — Bucks, Lakers, Hornets, Grizzlies and Sixers — before getting a rematch against Indiana, who plastered them early in the year. It’d be mighty nice to see this turn into a bit of a winnings streak, wouldn’t it?. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY