Pistons’ bench hangs on to beat Cavaliers in overtime
112. 64. 110. 156. Final
The Detroit Pistons’ starters watched from the sidelines as the reserves beat the Cleveland Cavaliers’ reserves and earned the team’s 44th win of the season.
When the starting lineups were announced, no one would blame you if you turned the channel. However, this game was anything but boring. Despite a 36 point eruption from D-League stud Jordan McRae, the Pistons made clutch shots in overtime and benefitted from some late missed free throws by McRae as they were able to hang on.
The Pistons had some lapses defensively, but their exceptional ball movement and balanced scoring was enough to get the win.
A. Blake played the first and third quarters and looked great in his 24 minutes. He facilitated well, racking up six assists, and also shot well, finishing with 13 points on 5-7 shooting including 3-4 from three. He ends the regular season on a high note after a strong final few weeks, and a confident Steve Blake will be big for the Pistons going into the post season. . PG. Pistons. STEVE BLAKE
Hilliard really struggled tonight. He drew the start alongside Blake in the back court, but was never able to get it going. He finished with four points on 1-7 shooting, with four rebounds, two assists and three turnovers. . SG. Pistons. DARRUN HILLIARD II. D-
D. I thought coming into the game that Stanley Johnson would be the best player on the floor. He came out looking confident and aggressive, but his shots weren’t falling. He finished shooting 4-14 from the field for 12 points, and despite pulling down eight rebounds, it was a disappointing performance for the rookie.. SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER. A. Tolliver’s shot was falling tonight, and he was active on the boards as well. He finsihed with 15 points on 5-10 shooting with eight rebounds.. PF
Pistons. ARON BAYNES. B. Baynes was solid as the starting center tonight, except for the multiple moving screen calls. He scored 14 points on 5-9 shooting, but pulled down just five rebounds in 28 minutes.. C
A. Bullock was fantastic tonight. He scored an efficient 15 points on 5-8 shooting and also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Blake and Dinwiddie did a good job of finding him for open shots, and he was able to knock most of them down. . SG. Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK
PG. Pistons. SPENCER DINWIDDIE. C+. Dinwiddie struggled from the floor, and had an even more difficult time staying in front of Jordan McRae, but I thought he did a nice job running the offense tonight. He also didn’t shy away from attacking the rim and taking big shots down the stretch, although he did miss some free throws that could have given the Pistons a two possession lead at the end of regulation. Dinwiddie finished with 12 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers.
A. Joel put on one of the best defensive performances of the season tonight. He had EIGHT blocks in just 25 minutes, and he also scored 7 points on 3-3 shooting. Even though he doesn’t see the floor on most nights, you can always count on Joel being ready to play when his number is called.. C. Pistons. JOEL ANTHONY
A. Meeks sure didn’t look like a guy who had missed 79 consecutive games. He came off the bench and scored 20 points in 26 minutes, showing off the shooting stroke that made him so attractive to Stan Van Gundy when he was a free agent. It’s hard not to think about what the Pistons’ bench could have looked like had Meeks been healthy all season.. SG. Pistons. JODIE MEEKS
A. It’s hard to grade Stan Van Gundy in this game, but I gave him an A because he has clearly done a good job this season in making sure the bench is ready to play if and when called upon. The ball movement was exceptional tonight, and I liked how Van Gundy stuck with Dinwiddie and Joel Anthony late in the fourth and overtime when he could have gone back to Blake and Baynes to secure the win. (“Could have gone back to Blake and Baynes to secure the win” is something I never thought I would type.). Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY