The Detroit Pistons took their time and played at a consistent pace against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and eventually out hustled them in the end.
Coming into tonight, a big key analysts talked about on the Detroit Pistons pregame show was getting going early and staying consistent on offense. It was a back and forth first quarter up until the 3:09 mark in the first quarter when Brandon Knight hit a 27-foot three which gave the Cavs a 20-17 lead. From that point on, the Cavs went on to outscore the Pistons 30-23 through the rest of the first quarter.
The game was much closer for the 2nd and 3rd quarters where the Pistons were only outscored by 5 points, and Derrick Rose at the end of the third did what he was brought here to do and provided a spark. He hit the final three baskets for the Pistons in the third, the most momentous of so was a layup with .1 seconds left on the clock.
Reggie Jackson sparked the initial run in the fourth with a couple of good assists – one to Christian Wood for an 18-foot, pull-up jumper and the other to Thon Maker at the top of the arc for three. After that the fourth quarter was all Pistons, where they outscored the Cavs 31-15 to secure a 109-105 victory.
This gamed mimicked their other preseason win against the Dallas Mavericks where certain players from the second unit gave a push to get them back in the game. Tonight it was Wood who made a few key plays in the comeback, whether they be buckets or setting good screens in the pick and roll game with Bruce Brown, which leads to another takeaway I had from the game.