The Detroit Pistons ended their skid with an impressive 125-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night behind great games from Stanley Johnson, Andre Drummond, Reggie Bullock, Anthony Tolliver, and Ish Smith.
In a night where the focus was off the court due to the Blake Griffin trade, a short-handed Detroit Pistons (23-26) squad fought and scraped their way to a 125-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers (29-20), ending an eight-game losing streak in the process.
The deck was stacked against them.
Detroit was without newly-acquired Griffin, Willie Reed, and Brice Johnson who were still in transit following last night’s trade, Reggie Jackson and Jon Leuer due to injury, and Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and Boban Marjanovic who were traded away.
The Pistons were in their worst swoon of the season, losers of their last eight games and nine of their past 10. Plus, they were a lowly 3-12 since Jackson went down the day after Christmas, and it was the Cavaliers in town.
None of it mattered.
Bolstered by career nights from Stanley Johnson (career-high 26 points) and Reggie Bullock (tied a career high with 22 points) and a 20-20 performance from their newly-minted All-Star Andre Drummond, the Pistons rode a big second half to victory. Anthony Tolliver chipped in 20 of his own, while Ish Smith added 19, making it an impressive night for all five Piston starters.
This game may be more of an indictment on the Cavs, who allowed the short-handed and reeling Pistons to score a season-high 68 points in the paint and 27 fast break points. Cavs All-Star Kevin Love also broke his hand in the first quarter to make matters worse.
To the grades:
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This game kicked off a six-game homestand, so there’s hope left for the 2017-2018 Detroit Pistons. All eyes will be on Griffin’s availability for the next game on Thursday against Memphis.