Game Recap: Detroit Pistons beat the Heat 112-103
By Matthew Way
The Detroit Pistons won their eighth game in nine tries, this time against the Miami Heat by the score of 112-103, as they completed a sweep of their five game home stand.
The Detroit Pistons, once again, faced a double digit deficit in the finale of their home stand. And, again, they erased it completely.
The Miami Heat scored 58 points in the first half, getting whatever look they wanted as the result of sloppy defensive rotations from the Pistons.
In the second half, everything changed.
Detroit was rotating crisply and their defensive success led to the offense prospering.
Rookie Luke Kennard led the Pistons’ second half surge, playing excellent and earning huge fourth quarter minutes in favor of starting small forward Reggie Bullock.
Kennard delivered on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter and the Pistons improved to an impressive 5-3 in games where they’ve faced double digit deficits.
Detroit’s star point guard took a slight step backwards against the Heat. Jackson scored 17 points,<br />but did so on 15 shots and five turnovers. He ran a few crisp pick-and-rolls with Andre Drummond, but he didn’t have as big an impact on the game as fans might hope. He worked hard defensively, but he did blow several rotations which led to the Heat’s big first half lead.. PG. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON. B-
B+. When the Pistons needed offense, Bradley found a way to manufacture it. He did a terrific job adjusting to how the Heat were playing the dribble hand-offs with Drummond, reversing them several times and nailing jumpers. The shooting guard finished with a team-high 24 points and his defensive intensity sparked the Pistons turnaround in the second half.. SG. Detroit Pistons. AVERY BRADLEY
REGGIE BULLOCK. D. It was a rough night for Reggie Bullock, once again filling in for Stanley Johnson in the starting lineup. Bullock blew numerous defensive rotations and went 0-for-3 from the floor while accumulating only 3 rebounds and 2 assists. He was noticeably absent from the end of the game as Luke Kennard took his minutes.. SF. Detroit Pistons
Tobias’ hot start to the season continued against the Heat. Harris made 5-of-8 from deep and was his usual dynamic self on the offensive end of the floor. He kept the Pistons in the game with his shooting in the first half and deserves a ton of credit for today’s win. He missed a rotation or two defensively, which lowers his grade ever so slightly.. PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS. A-
C+. After a stretch of performing well against Hassan Whiteside, Drummond lost his individual match-up in today’s game.<br />He did grab 17 rebounds, but his defense left a bit to be desired at times. Drummond did connect on another nice alley oop pass, this time to Avery Bradley. Still, Detroit’s big man needs to play with a bit more energy than he did today.. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
A. Kennard took full advantage of Bullock’s struggles, playing 28 minutes and scoring a career-high 14 points. Kennard came up huge in crunch time, particularly on the defensive end where he rotated and contributed to three huge stops during a critical stretch in the fourth quarter. Kennard added five rebounds and three assists in what was the best game of his young career.. SF. Detroit Pistons. LUKE KENNARD
B+. The Pistons’ back-up point guard played a very solid game, scoring 11 points and adding seven assists in Detroit’s win.<br />Smith played much more under control than he has recently, passing out of traffic and just doing a very good job of orchestrating the bench’s offense.. PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH
LANGSTON GALLOWAY. C-. To this point a consistent contributor during Detroit’s hot start, Langston Galloway had perhaps his worst game of the year against Miami. He scored just three points on 1-for-4 shooting and wasn’t very involved in the offense during his 18 minutes. Additionally, he got beat a couple times defensively in a stretch where the Pistons’ bench provided no resistance to the Heat.. SG. Detroit Pistons
B+. Anthony Tolliver provided solid minutes for Detroit, as usual. He knocked down all three of his attempts from behind the arc for his nine points and served as the anchor of the Pistons’ small ball lineup in the fourth quarter. Tolliver’s spacing and defense brought a much needed spark for the Pistons when they desperately needed it in the second half.. PF. Detroit Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
C-. <br />Eric Moreland blocked two shots in his five minutes, but couldn’t stay on the floor because of his three quick fouls.<br />He lost his minutes at center to Anthony Tolliver in the second half after his ineffective first half stint.. C. Detroit Pistons. ERIC MORELAND
Next: Pistons find themselves in elite company
Head Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY. B. The Pistons looked lost defensively in the first half and Stan Van Gundy turned things around at halftime.<br />He gets knocked a bit for not having them prepared right away, but his terrific halftime adjustments tightened up rotations and led to a great second half performance that keyed the Pistons’ victory.