Thon Maker hits game winning three, Detroit Pistons win 125-122

With Blake Griffin ejected in the third quarter, the Detroit Pistons needed a hero to beat the Atlanta Hawks; they got multiple in the 125-123 win.

Blake Griffin was tossed in the third quarter.

Trae Young started to show out.

Vince Carter was talking more than a your neighborhood hooper.

The Atlanta Hawks took the lead late in the fourth.

But to the rescue came…

Thon Maker?

The Detroit Pistons squeaked past the Hawks 125-122 thanks to a go ahead corner three with 16 seconds left by the recently acquired Piston. The Detroit Pistons move on to 27-30 and are now .5 games behind the seventh seed.

This game looked like a game you attend down the street or at your local gym. The trash talk going on in this game was at an all time high.

That makes Griffin’s ejection look even more confusing. After hitting a three, Griffin appeared to yell something towards Carter; who was sitting on the Hawk bench. Carter got up and pleaded for Griffin to be ejected.

And just like that, Griffin was ejected.

Okay then. Earlier in the game though, Carter straight up stopped in the middle of a play and squared up on Reggie Jackson.

The play wasn’t even whistled dead.

Griffin left the game with 15 points, four rebounds, one assist on 6-13 shooting from the field. He was a +20 in his 23 minutes.

Outside of the trash talk, we had point guard duel for the ages.

Jackson had his first 30 point game since January 2017, and played some of the best basketball we’ve seen from him since he was healthy in 2016. Jackson finished the game with 32 points, eight assists to zero turnovers, five rebounds, on 12-22 shooting from the field and 3-9 from deep.

On the opposite side, Young put on an absolute show. Early in the game, Young had Bruce Brown doing a 360 after faking passing between his legs, following that with a nutmeg pass between Griffin for an assist. Young ended the game with 30 points, 10 assists, two rebounds, on 11-23 shooting from the field and 5-11 from deep.

Andre Drummond may be the real hero of this game for the Detroit Pistons. With under a minute to play, Drummond broke up an alley oop pass from Young to John Collins with the Pistons down two.

Drummond was then fouled on the other end, and hit both free throws to tie the game. He was 6-14 from the line before hitting the two clutch free throws.

Drummond added another 20-20 game to his resume, and it’s starting to become shocking when he doesn’t grab a 20-20. He ended with 26 points, 21 rebounds, five steals, two assists, one block, on 9-13 shooting from the field.

This was a much needed win for the Detroit Pistons, and it was way too close for comfort. The Pistons will be back in the light tomorrow night against the Miami Heat; a team in the thick of the playoff race with Detroit.

With a chance to gain another full game lead on the Heat, a win is badly needed.