Detroit Pistons suffer bad loss to short-handed Heat in overtime

The Detroit Pistons (4-5) suffered their fifth straight loss of the season, falling to the Miami Heat (4-5) 120-115 in overtime on Monday at Little Caesars Arena. Andre Drummond finished with 25 points and 24 rebounds.

The Detroit Pistons fell 120-115 in overtime to the Miami Heat on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena.

The Pistons looked to be all but dead late in the fourth quarter, but mounted a rally thanks to Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson. Blake Griffin fouled out late in the fourth when diving for a loose ball that Dwyane Wade came up with.

The team appeared to be on their way to a comeback win, but the sharp shooting of Josh Richardson made sure that Detroit was not going to be victorious on this night, dropping a fifth contest in a row.

By no means is the season over. But games like these will go a long way in confirming the biggest points of the Pistons’ critics. The Heat were without their leading rebounder and shot-blocker in Hassan Whiteside, and also left 11 points at the line.

Losing close games to Miami (3-5 coming into the night) and Brooklyn (2-5 before beating the Pistons) will assure the Pistons are not a team in the top four, a goal Griffin announced before the season.

The Pistons got off to a slow start in the first quarter again, something that has plagued this team throughout the young season

Detroit was down 12-3 early, but then went on a 20-2 run after Dwane Casey called a timeout. The Heat responded after falling behind by nine, going on 21-6 run of their own, which included a near half-court shot from Tyler Johnson at the end of the first quarter.

Detroit led by five late in the first half at 49-44, but the Heat tied it up heading into halftime at 53 all.

The game went back and forth in the third, with Detroit being kept afloat from a huge third quarter from Langston Galloway, who dropped 17 points off the bench in the third and 21 for the game.

The Heat started to find some breathing room late in the third and early in the fourth on run keyed by bench players Kelly Olynyk, Dwyane Wade, and Rodney McGruder.

In a slug-fest type of game, Detroit found themselves down 96-84 with just over eight minutes left. Once the team fell behind 12 early on, it looked as if they were going to lay down, with consecutive bad possessions.

Detroit got going on a long two-point shot from Glenn Robinson III with a toe on the line. They dropped the lead down to five at 96-91, but the Heat pushed it back up to 104-97 with three minutes left.

Detroit then went on 8-1 to run and tied the game with five tenths of a second left on a Drummond tip-in. After Griffin fouled out, Jackson took a shot high off the window with two defenders on him that was long, but Drummond was there for the follow on a left hand put-back.

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The Pistons were aided by two missed free throws from Wade with the score at 105-103 and the shot-clock turned off.

It appeared to be the return of Mr. Fourth Quarter from the 2015-16 season, with Jackson scoring five points in the fourth and seven in overtime. Jackson hit a shot to put Detroit up two with 1:27 left, but Richardson responded with a deep 3-point shot over Ish Smith with the shot clock running down.

Detroit had Robinson with an open 3-point shot to put them up two, but it was off and tipped out on a rebound by Josh Richardson.

Detroit was subsequently called for a clear path foul on the pass, when Wade was standing open down the court. Frankly, I can’t remember a call like that ever being made, but it was and Detroit fell 120-115 after the Heat sunk four free throws.

Robinson was a team-best plus-18 from the field, with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Blake Griffin stuffed the stat sheet per usual (24 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists), but did shoot 38 percent from the field and foul out late.

Drummond (as expected with the Heat missing Hassan Whiteside) had a monster 25-point, 24-rebound game on 11-of-19 from the floor. Reggie Jackson also had a solid a game with 25 points, four rebounds, and six assists.

Those outputs make it more perplexing that Pistons found a way to lose this one.

Miami had another solid performance from Josh Richardson (27 points, eight rebounds, four assists), including a dagger three late in overtime. Goran Dragic was able to pour in 21 with seven boards and six assists, while even Wade turned back the clock for 18 crucial points.

Detroit continued its rough shooting during their losing streak, shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three on the night.

Detroit’s next game will be on Wednesday when they travel to the Sunshine State to take on Orlando Magic at 7 p.m.