Detroit falls asleep in the second half, but puts the game away when needed
It wasn’t always pretty, and the Detroit Pistons didn’t always look like they were taking the game seriously, but they did enough to put away the overmatched Charlotte Hornets 112-102. The win moved Detroit above .500 (27-26) and 4-2 to end their homestand. Their two losses were by a combined five points.
The Pistons were led by Tobias Harris’ 20 points and Cade Cunningham’s 19-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double. It was Cunningham’s eighth triple-double of the season.
Honestly, it was not Cade’s sharpest game. While he was one of the reason’s the team was able to storm out to a 28-point lead, he was also for the Hornets cutting the deficit to two with 7:48 remaining in the game.
From then on, Cunningham got serious and put the game away. He worked his way into a smooth 16-foot jumper at the top of the key and assisted on a Dennis Schröder three-pointer. He then snaked his way into the lane for a six-foot floater and hit two free throws to power an 11-2 run that put the game out of reach.
The Hornets, who were missing several starters from their lineup, were unable to do much of anything in the first half, but its pair of veterans, Seth Curry and Miles Bridges, powered the team’s second-half comeback. Curry finished with 26 and Bridges a game-high 30 points.
Ausar Thompson continued his strong of strong play as both a point-forward who pushed the ball up the floor and as a big man in the dunker’s spot. He had 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals on 7-of-9 shooting. Thompson is finally getting comfortable after missing most of the first half of the season, and could be a jump shot away from being a young star in the NBA (jump shots are important).
Malik Beasley followed up his career night against the Philadelphia 76ers with a pedestrian game, hitting just five of 14 three-pointers on his way to 17 points.
The Pistons push their record past .500 once again and haven’t been more than two games below or above .500 since being 15-18 on Jan. 1.
They have two more games before an extended rest for the All-Star break, both road contests in a back-to-back against the Bulls in Chicago. The Bulls have four wins in their past 13 games.