BY: MARIA BULLARD – SPORTS ON AIR USA CORRESPONDENT
DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons flipped the script on Tuesday night and came from behind to sting the Charlotte Hornets, 113-103, at the Little Caesars Arena.
Winners of just five of their 44 games this season, it’s the Pistons who are usually on the losing end of close games. This time, though, they came through in the clutch.
Down 104-100 in the final 2:34 of play, the Pistons — buoyed by a huge 3 from Bojan Bogdanovic –went on 13-2 game-ending run to seal the deal.
Bogdanovic punched in 34 points to lead all scorers. Alec Burks added 15 and Jalen Duren pitched in 14. The Pistons hit 50 percent from the field (43-of-86) and 39.5 percent from 3 (15-of-38).
“Yesterday, we talked about competing, poise and execution, We had done those three things but we hadn’t closed. Tonight, we closed,” Pistons coach Monty Williams told reporters.
Closing had really been an issue with the Pistons this season. They lost 27 games at one point, and when they snapped that streak, they followed it with seven straight defeats. The win over the Hornets broke a three-game skid.
The Hornets aren’t as bad as the Pistons record-wise, but with a 10-32 record they, too, are a lottery-bound team. The loss to the Pistons was a microcosm of their challenging season as they connected on just 43.7 percent of their field goals (38-of-87).
Brandon MIller led the Hornets with 23 points. LaMelo Ball added 17 points and 7 assists but the star point guard missed 15 of his 21 shots.
“We stopped moving the ball in the fourth quarter,” said Hornets coach Steve Clifford.
Another game. Another missed opportunity.
