Pistons hold on, beat Pacers 104-98
By Matthew Way
The Detroit Pistons overcame some Indianapolis demons, holding on to beat the Indiana Pacers by six after losing against the Pacers.
With 42 seconds left in the game, doubt creeped into the minds of Detroit Pistons fans everywhere. The Pacers had the ball down only two points after having trailed the game by 16 earlier in the fourth quarter. Inevitable was the thought of loss in Indiana a month ago where the Detroit blew a 22 point lead.
This time around, things were different.
Myles Turner missed a three pointer that was far more open than many of the shots the Pacers made in their previous comeback victory. Reggie Jackson knocked down two free throws to push the lead to four.
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On the next possession, Andre Drummond, the star of the game, blocked a Victor Oladipo three point attempt to end things for good.
The eventual win for Detroit clinched a sweep of a crucial back-to-back and eliminated the sour taste of the previous seven game losing streak.
Now for the grades of the Pistons’ excellent team win:
C-. Detroit’s starting point guard didn’t look quite right tonight, scoring only eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. Jackson stopped previously good ball movement when he entered the fourth quarter and contributed to the Pacers’ comeback. He did play some good defense in the fourth, but got a fairly unlucky whistle. Still, this was not one of Jackson’s better efforts.. PG. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON
B. <a rel=. SG. Detroit Pistons. LUKE KENNARD
SF. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK. A. In his second consecutive start, <a rel=
C. <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS
A+. Quite simply, Andre Drummond was the best player on the floor tonight. By far. Drummond dominated the boards, working particularly hard on the offensive glass for six possession extenders. He was Detroit’s leading scorer with 23 points and had perhaps his best rim protecting game of the season. When he got pulled away from the paint, he provided brilliant help in the high pick-and-roll and sealed the game with a block of Oladipo’s three point attempt with under a minute remaining.. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
ISH SMITH. C. The Pistons back-up point guard didn’t fare much better than the starter. <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons
B. <a rel=. SG. Detroit Pistons. LANGSTON GALLOWAY
A-. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
B. <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
ERIC MORELAND. A-. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons
A-. Stan Van Gundy had his guys ready to play on the second night of a back-to-back. The Pistons again schemed well against Victor Oladipo and Van Gundy did a very nice job with his rotations tonight. When the offense became stagnant in the fourth, Van Gundy did not hesitate to switch things up until he found a unit that worked. Maybe most importantly, he didn’t wait too long to bring the starters back in the fourth quarter. That was especially important to Drummond, who found his groove in clutch time after being allowed to get into a rhythm.. Head Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY