Hours after the Detroit Pistons refused to trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at the trade deadline, he rewarded them in a big way. Caldwell-Pope scored 18 of his team-high 33 points in the fourth quarter or later, leading the Pistons to a 114-108 home victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
The Pistons’ outlook looked bleak for much of their first game following the All-Star Break, trailing by as many as 18 late in the third quarter. The Pistons put a small dent in the lead at the end of the third, and entered the fourth quarter down 15.
Then the Pistons’ bench happened. Ish Smith, Reggie Bullock, Stanley Johnson, and Tobias Harris all played with great energy and got the team back within nine points. Marcus Morris and Caldwell-Pope entered a suddenly winnable game and closed the deficit to one possession late in the game. From there, Kemba Walker and Caldwell-Pope traded baskets for several possessions until Caldwell-Pope made a three pointer with 18 seconds left that the Hornets could not match.
In overtime, Caldwell-Pope and Morris finished what they started in the fourth quarter, scoring all 14 of the Pistons overtime points en route to a six point win.
Noticeably absent from the fourth quarter and overtime were the two Pistons most frequently rumored to be on the move just hours before. Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond played a combined zero minutes in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Jackson and Drummond were benched, in large part, because of how poor the starters were playing defense. The Hornets entered the fourth quarter with 85 points, and finished with just 108.
The Hornets’ small lineup, with Frank Kaminsky at center, forced the Pistons starters to constantly help on mismatches. And, when the Hornets passed the ball out of help defense, the Pistons starters were in a constant state of confusion while trying to rotate defensively.
That confusion was aggravated by Aron Baynes being limited to 5 minutes due to an illness. Without Baynes, the team did very little communicating defensively, and it showed in their sloppy defensive rotations.
The lack of communication was especially evident with Drummond and Jackson on the floor. Both players had numerous defensive lapses, allowing the Hornets open looks on what felt like nearly every possession in the first three quarters.
Tonight, the bench had their back. On the strength of its high energy and good communication, the bench’s defense began the Pistons comeback. Then, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took over and hit clutch shot after clutch shot. Those clutch performances are happening more and more frequently for him.
And the Pistons’ front office is noticing.