Blake Griffin’s debut was as good as Detroit Pistons fans could hope for. The Pistons went down to the wire with the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Griffin-era for the Pistons began with a 104-102 victory Thursday night.
The Detroit Pistons (24-26) narrowly defeated the Memphis Grizzlies (18-33) 104-102 Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. Blake Griffin made his Pistons debut count with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Five other Pistons had double-digit point totals against a struggling Grizzlies team missing the likes of Mike Conley and Tyreke Evans.
Pistons Head Coach, Stan Van Gundy said in his postgame press conference that the team will be working more toward acclimating Griffin into their system as they move forward.
“I think that just sorta scratched the surface,” Van Gundy said about Griffin’s performance.
The game was close throughout as both teams exchanged short scoring runs and shooting droughts. There were 21 lead changes throughout, but the difference in this game was at the free throw line. The Pistons made 27 of 37 free throws, Griffin alone going 11-for-13 from the free throw line. The Grizzlies made all of their free throws, but only had 14 free throw attempts for the game.
Reggie Bullock (15 points) and Stanley Johnson (14 points) both continued to look confident shooting the ball for the second straight game. Despite going a combined 4-for-14 from three-point range, both wings were clutch down the stretch of this game.
Marc Gasol had 19 points and 14 rebounds in the losing effort for the Grizzlies. Andrew Harrison added 18 points and eight assists taking over full-time for Mike Conley who was ruled out for the season this week.
The Pistons take on the Miami Heat (29-22) Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena.
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