Blake Griffin played on one leg and Reggie Jackson emptied all of his bullets. The Detroit Pistons fought to extend their season, but fell just short.
The Detroit Pistons entered Little Caesars Arena on Monday, understanding it may be their final time doing so this season. Blake Griffin had returned game three, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Milwaukee Bucks from beating down on the Pistons.
With the city of Detroit behind them, the Pistons went into this game expecting to leave it all on the court in what could’ve been many players final time playing together.
Andre Drummond had heard the boos from game three, and no doubt had heard all the noise from some wild fans about him and his teams play. It was announced Griffin would play right before the game, even though he had Rob Gronkowski type brace covering his entire left knee.
These two players, along with Reggie Jackson, were not going to go down without a fight. We heard all the talk about it, but would the Pistons actually come out and lay it all on the line.
Yes, they really did.
Drummond came out the gate fighting, scrapping for offensive boards. Almost every attempt he had at the rim was an attempt to dunk on someone and get physical, instead of laying the ball up for a chance to get blocked.
Jackson came out firing, scoring 20 points in the first half, while also providing one of his best highlights in a Pistons uniform, flying through the air to throw down a put-back dunk on two Buck players as the time expired in the first half.
Griffin continued to get physical with Giannis Antetokounmpo, even though he was down one leg. On a fast break, Griffin found enough fight in him to raise up over Ersan Ilyasova throw down a dunk that had LCA getting crazy. No more than 20 seconds later, Griffin was grabbing his left leg, limping off the floor.
The Detroit Pistons led the first seeded Milwaukee Bucks at halftime, and Jackson was interviewed by Fox Sports Johnny Kane. Jackson, grasping for air, told Kane, “We emptied half of our bullets. We’ve got another half to go. We’re not taking any home with us.”
The Pistons, these three players in particular, laid it all on the line in the first half. That quote from Jackson will likely live on in Pistons minds for a long time.
The refs had something to say about the Pistons upsetting the Bucks in game four, calling the Pistons for 31 fouls and gift wrapping the Bucks 41 free throw attempts. The Bucks were living at the free throw line in the third quarter, while the Pistons didn’t receive their first free throws of the half till 1:28 to go in the quarter.
Along with the abnormal difference in officiating for each team, the Pistons straight up ran out of gas. They ended up losing this game by 23 points. Jackson dropped 26 points and seven assists. Griffin had 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Drummond finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
The Pistons may have gotten swept, but they left it all on the court. They gave the city all they possibly could, and even though they were down one leg, fought like like they had all their troops in line.
The season ends with a sour taste in many fans mouths, but we can say one thing for sure.
These players gave everything they could to extend their season.
We’re all proud of that.