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Pistons fall to Heat 97-96, lose fifth straight game

By Ryan Love

Mar 28, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) and Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) battle for the ball during the fourth quarter of the game at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Miami defeated Detroit 97-96. Mandatory Credit: Leon Halip-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) and Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) battle for the ball during the fourth quarter of the game at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Miami defeated Detroit 97-96. Mandatory Credit: Leon Halip-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Detroit Pistons (34-41) lost in dramatic fashion to the Miami Heat (36-38) Tuesday night at the Palace. The Pistons now sit 2.5 games out of the eighth seed in the playoffs.

The Detroit Pistons dropped a heartbreaker to the Miami Heat by a score of 97-96 Thursday night after giving up a buzzer-beating tip-in by Hassan Whiteside.

After being outplayed most of the game, the Pistons turned up their defensive efforts in the fourth quarter. However, despite outscoring the Heat 27-19 in the fourth, the Pistons saw a lot of calls go against them down the stretch, resulting in their fifth straight loss.

“We would have won the game if I would have done a better job,” said Stan Van Gundy in his postgame press conference in reference to having Stanley Johnson in the game over Beno Udrih for the last few possessions.

Pistons point guard, Reggie Jackson, once again did not dress for the game. This is his second straight game of “est as Van Gundy continues to experiment with this team with seven games remaining in the season.

“That’s not what we need to talk about right now,” Van Gundy said when asked by the media about Jackson’s status going forward.

Miami’s shooting guard, Dion Waiters missed his fifth straight game with a left ankle injury, which has hindered their scoring in recent games, including this one. Whiteside and Goran Dragic picked up some of that slack with 17 and 28 points respectively.

SG. Detroit Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. A-. <a rel=

MARCUS MORRIS. D. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons

TOBIAS HARRIS. B. <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons

C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. C-. <a rel=

Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH. A. <a rel=. PG

D. Stanley Johnson was given a chance to shine tonight, getting to play 32 minutes, including the game’s most vital moments down the stretch. Johnson did not deliver. He finished with five points, seven rebounds and five turnovers. He also was subject to a technical foul on an important inbounds pass by the Heat, and a jump-ball situation that would set up the game-winning possession by the Heat.. SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON

PF. Detroit Pistons. JON LEUER. D+. <a rel=

Next: It's time to shut Reggie Jackson down for the season

B-. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. ARON BAYNES

The Pistons look to have their revenge over the Brooklyn Nets (16-58) Thursday night at the Palace.

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