Detroit Pistons Extend Win Streak to Five, Move Into Tie for Seventh Seed
By Jake De Sane
A well balanced attack led the Detroit Pistons to a big win over the red hot Charlotte Hornets. The win pushes the Pistons lead over Chicago to two games for the eighth seed and lands them in a tie with Indiana for the seventh seed.
The Detroit Pistons certainly came up big tonight with a strong performance against the Eastern Conference’s hottest team. In the end they came out on top 112-105–on the strength of a well balanced attack. Six players got into double figures for Detroit as they put up 72 points in the first half. Detroit is getting hot at the right time–sitting on a five game winning streak with just nine games left to play on the season.
The Pistons defense was stingy up until a stretch in the fourth quarter where Charlotte had a 20-1 run and cut a 106-80 lead to just a five point deficit. Charlotte’s Kemba Walker torched the Pistons for 25 first half points before being held to just four in the second half, credit Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a strong comeback game after sitting out with an illness.
170. Final. 112. 64. 105
REGGIE JACKSON. B. Reggie Jackson didn’t have his most efficient night shooting the ball (6-19) but was still able to contribute 17 points, sevens assists and six rebounds.. PG. Pistons
SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. B+. After sitting out the previous game with an illness Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had his hands full tonight guarding Kemba Walker. Walker started hot with 25 points in the first half but KCP managed to hold him to just four points in the second half. His contributions weren’t limited to the defensive side, he added 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. Overall great game for KCP tonight, he really came up big.
A-. Marcus Morris stayed red hot in this game. Morris has been such a reliable scorer as of late and that did not change in this one. He had 20 points on 8-14 shooting, keeping this shooting performance up may not be possible but it couldn’t come at a better time for Detroit lets cross our fingers it continues.. SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS
C. Tobias struggled to get going in this game only tallying seven points–making just one field goal. He wasn’t a complete non-factor however, he collected seven rebounds and dished out five assists. This was his first really poor shooting night as a Piston, he was the only starter not to reach double figures.. PF. Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS
B+. In my game preview I mentioned the importance of getting Drummond involved early in this one–he had struggled against Charlotte up until this point and had a breakout game tonight. He had his 60th double double of the year–finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds and leading the Pistons to a huge rebonding advantage 62-42 for the night.. C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
Pistons. ARON BAYNES. B+. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from Aron Baynes as of late and he impressed again tonight. Baynes provided a spark off the bench tonight chipping in with 16 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes of play. Baynes always plays hard and tonight was no exception.. C
PG. Pistons. STEVE BLAKE. D. Steve Blake played 19 minutes tonight but did not score. He was able to contirbute five assists off the bench but missed all three of his field goal attempts. Needless to say he continues to be a defensive liability–Blake simply cannot keep up with other point guards.
STAN VAN GUNDY. B+. Credit Stan Van Gundy for figuring out this Charlotte squad even if it took him a couple tries first. The Pistons needed to win this game and had little to no reason to be confident heading into tonight’s match-up. They came out motivated and focused, which lead to a dominant first three quarters. The late run by Charlotte was alarming but SVG was able to get the Pistons calmed down and they were able to hold onto the lead they built.. Head Coach. Pistons