Brandon Jennings’ breakout game leads Pistons to win over Magic

38. Final. 115. 64. 89

B+. Jackson played a pretty strong game and he might not have even been the best point guard on his own team tonight. While he wasn’t as exciting as Brandon Jennings, Jackson still played a big part when the game was in doubt. His 10 points in the third quarter, as Orlando cut the lead to 63-65, were huge. The defense on Victor Oladipo wasn’t great, but I don’t know if that’s fully on Jackson.. PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON

Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. A-. K3P was in The Palace tonight. Caldwell-Pope shot the ball well from the get-go, hitting 5/8 from deep, and looked good with either point guard. He (and the Pistons overall) held Evan “Don’t Google” Fournier scoreless on six shots. The +/- stat doesn’t do a lot for me in the NBA, but Caldwell-Pope was a game-best +28 — that, at the least, reaffirms his impact.. SG

Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. B-. Morris didn’t have as big of an offensive night as I thought he might, but he put together an efficient one and did a good job on Tobias Harris. The Magic forward scored 11 points, but Morris did a good job defensively by simply limiting him to seven shot attempts.. SF

C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. B+. It wasn’t an insane game, but it was a ho-hum night for Drummond. He grabbed 12 boards while scoring 17 points and he was working in-unison with Jackson on the pick and roll, but he didn’t do a great job defensively on Nik Vucevic at the opening of either half. And the free throws, of course.

ERSAN ILYASOVA. B-. The Magic aren’t an overly-physical team, but Ilyasova got into the paint and threw his body around. He didn’t have big rebounding numbers, but that effort played a big part in keeping Vucevic off the boards. Drummond helped, obviously, but holding Orlando’s best player to three boards was big.. PF. Pistons

B. He’s always going to hustle, but his defense and shooting is what helped get the Pistons bench rolling. He scored 10 points and grabbed six boards and, when the jumper is dropping, he can a very valuable piece off the bench.. PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER

C+. He played hard, specifically on the defensive end, but he was all over the place on the other end. He was either trying to drive when he should pass or passing when he should just shoot. He did nail a pair of first-half triples. I think he’s going to get better looks with Jennings running the second unit. But his decision making needs to improve.. SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON

PG. Pistons. BRANDON JENNINGS. A. This looked a lot like the Jennings of old. He played fast and he made good decisions, looking decisive all night — something that guys coming back from injury struggle with. Jennings has always been better when the Pistons are playing fast and, with a bench filled with limited offensive players, he has the freedom to create. It helps that the Magic couldn’t keep either point guard out of the paint, but 17 points and six assists in 18 minutes is a huge step forward for Jennings as a Piston and, potentially, Jennings elsewhere.

There’s not a whole lot to say about Baynes, and I mean that in a good way. He’s just so solid, even with his physical limitations. I think Jennings may have gotten him the ball in some spots that might be better for, say, Drummond, but he’ll benefit from a healthy Jennings, too.. C. Pistons. ARON BAYNES. G

He missed a shot, handed out an assist and turned it over in four garbage minutes.. PG. Pistons. STEVE BLAKE. C

C. Joel Anthony plays, Joel Anthony blocks a shot. Rinse and repeat.. C. Pistons. JOEL ANTHONY

Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK. C. He was out there in mop-up time.. SG

C. You knew shots were going up as soon as he hit the floor.. SG. Pistons. DARRUN HILLIARD II

A. The Pistons got off to a quick start and, while the Magic fought back a few times and cut the lead to two points in the third, closed it out strong tonight. I think Van Gundy did a good job balancing the bench and starters — giving Jennings and the bench a long leash after starting strong. This might have been the Pistons best win of the season, even if the Magic appear to be fading. It was one of the rare times where the bench and starters each played well on both ends. It was good to see Van Gundy letting Jennings play free and fast, too. The bench looked good because he was pushing the tempo. We’ll see how that continues, but when Drummond and both point guards play well, the Pistons are going to be very tough to beat.. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY