Grades: Detroit Pistons flounder late, lose to LA Clippers 108-95
By Ryan Love
The Pistons could not keep up with the Clippers Friday night, losing . The Clippers outscored Blake Griffin and the Pistons 31-15 in the fourth quarter to seal the game and snap the Pistons’ five game winning streak.
The Detroit Pistons (27-27) came up short in the first “Blake Griffin revenge game” against his former team. Lou Williams led the Clippers (28-25) to the win with 26 points and six assists.
Both teams began the game shooting well from the floor, ending the first quarter 31-30 in favor of the Clippers. The Pistons won the second quarter but lost the third by one point before falling apart in the fourth. Reggie Bullock and Blake Griffin tied for a team high 19 points each.
Despite lackluster performances from Griffin’s old squad, the Pistons could not take advantage. DeAndre Jordan had just four points and four assists facing off against the Pistons’ all-star Andre Drummond most of the night. However, Drummond’s struggles were apparent all game long, which stopped him from being a factor in the game early on.
The game was chippy throughout, with many questionable foul and technical foul calls becoming factors down the stretch. Griffin and former Piston, Avery Bradley got tangled up in the first quarter which led to a double technical being called. Two more technicals would be called on DeAndre Jordan and Montrezl Harrell, but it would not be enough to get the Pistons a win.
The Pistons look to get back on track when they travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks (17-39) Saturday night.
Here are my player grades from Friday night:
B+. Reggie Bullock was the best Piston tonight by a longshot. Bullock started the game hot by scoring 16 points in the first half. However, he would finish with just 19 points on nearly 67 percent shooting from the floor and almost 56 percent from three.. SF. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK
B-. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
B-. Blake Griffin had a tough night against his former team. He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Griffin also had a huge, highlight-block on a Montrezl Harrell dunk attempt that brought the Detroit crowd to their feet. However, Griffin struggled with his jumpshot which could have made the difference in this game. He went 7-for-19 from the floor and just 1-for-7 from three point range.. PF. Detroit Pistons. BLAKE GRIFFIN
D+. Andre Drummond struggled all night and it was easy to see on most Pistons possessions that it was affecting his demeanor. Despite his 17 rebounds and three blocks, Drummond finished with just 12 points on 33 percent shooting. Drummond once again could not finish under the basket against any contention from the Clippers. It felt as though most of Drummond’s post-ups ended in strips or hook-shots that hit the front rim.. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
C+. <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH
D+. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. LUKE KENNARD
C. <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
C. Stan Van Gundy appeared to do his best with what he had to work with, but he needs to have a better option on nights that Drummond struggles as much as he did tonight. Moreland did not see the floor and the new additions of Jameer Nelson and <a rel=. Head Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY