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CHARLOTTE, NC – The Detroit Pistons turned up the defensive intensity late to start their last road trip of the regular season with a victory.
They defeated the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center, 118-100, to improve to 59-22 on Friday, April 10. Their win total is tied for third-best in franchise history, with the 1989-90 squad that won the NBA title and the 2007-08 team that's the last in team history to win a playoff series. With one game remaining – at the Indiana Pacers on Sunday (6 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) – they have a shot at the third 60-win season in franchise history. (The others: 1988-89, when the Pistons won their first NBA title, and 2005-06, when the Pistons reached the Eastern Conference finals.)
With Cade Cunningham (14 points, seven assists) on the bench through the first half of the fourth quarter, the Pistons went on an 18-2 run while holding the Hornets to 1-for-8 shooting and forcing four turnovers. Jalen Duren led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Duncan Robinson added 19 points. They held Charlotte to 39.1% shooting for the game, including a 5-for-19 (26.3%) mark in the final period.
More: Debating Pistons contract extensions for Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson
The Pistons led for most of the first half but never by more than eight points, and struggled to pull away against a Hornets team that takes and makes 3-pointers at a top-three clip. Despite the Pistons shooting shooting 56.3% at halftime, Charlotte only trailed 68-65 due to shooting 11-for-28 from 3 (39.3%), more than doubling the Pistons' 5-for-13 mark.
It was a back-and-forth game in the third period, but the Pistons pulled away decisively in the final period, which they opened with a 22-4 run to build their biggest lead of the night, 115-94, with just over four minutes left in the game. The Pistons held Charlotte scoreless for nearly five minutes, from the 10:34 mark until 5:41, to turn a once close game into a blowout.
Entering the game, the Pistons had something they hadn't seen in over a month – a clean injury report. Only Kevin Huerter was listed before the game as questionable, due to illness, and he was upgraded to probable before tipoff.
After missing Cunningham for 11 straight games and Stewart for 13, both players returned Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. The team have had an opportunity this week to get all of their players in a rhythm and focused ahead of the postseason. Cunningham played just over 28 minutes Friday, and Stewart played 16.
"You want to get them minutes," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said pregame. "You also want to take a look at different lineups, different rotations. Obviously both those guys being on minute restrictions and how we stretch that changes rotations a little bit, also. You’ll see some tinkering with the lineup to try to figure out how we get all those guys the minutes that they need and how do we build rotations around them."
The second-year forward works on his shot weekly with assistant coach and shooting guru Fred Vinson. With the regular season nearly finished, their work together appears to be paying off.
Holland knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers during a personal 10-0 run in the first quarter, marking his third time in four games with multiple makes beyond the arc. In his four most recent games, he's 9-for-15 from deep – a 60% rate that's a big improvement from his season mark of 24.3%.
Despite his struggles through most of the season, the coaching staff wants Holland to stay aggressive and shoot when he's open. The strategy is finally showing results.
“His open shot is the best shot,” Bickerstaff said in March. “We want him to believe that, if he’s doing the other things. His strength is putting pressure on the rim, and if he’s not doing that and just settling for jumpers, then he’s not maximizing his opportunities. But if he’s driving, he’s attacking, he’s defending, he’s running, the ball finds him in the corner, it’s an open shot, that shot is the best shot for us.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons sting Charlotte Hornets for win No. 59
Continue reading...
They defeated the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center, 118-100, to improve to 59-22 on Friday, April 10. Their win total is tied for third-best in franchise history, with the 1989-90 squad that won the NBA title and the 2007-08 team that's the last in team history to win a playoff series. With one game remaining – at the Indiana Pacers on Sunday (6 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) – they have a shot at the third 60-win season in franchise history. (The others: 1988-89, when the Pistons won their first NBA title, and 2005-06, when the Pistons reached the Eastern Conference finals.)
With Cade Cunningham (14 points, seven assists) on the bench through the first half of the fourth quarter, the Pistons went on an 18-2 run while holding the Hornets to 1-for-8 shooting and forcing four turnovers. Jalen Duren led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Duncan Robinson added 19 points. They held Charlotte to 39.1% shooting for the game, including a 5-for-19 (26.3%) mark in the final period.
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More: Debating Pistons contract extensions for Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson
The Pistons led for most of the first half but never by more than eight points, and struggled to pull away against a Hornets team that takes and makes 3-pointers at a top-three clip. Despite the Pistons shooting shooting 56.3% at halftime, Charlotte only trailed 68-65 due to shooting 11-for-28 from 3 (39.3%), more than doubling the Pistons' 5-for-13 mark.
It was a back-and-forth game in the third period, but the Pistons pulled away decisively in the final period, which they opened with a 22-4 run to build their biggest lead of the night, 115-94, with just over four minutes left in the game. The Pistons held Charlotte scoreless for nearly five minutes, from the 10:34 mark until 5:41, to turn a once close game into a blowout.
Pistons healthy at end of season
Entering the game, the Pistons had something they hadn't seen in over a month – a clean injury report. Only Kevin Huerter was listed before the game as questionable, due to illness, and he was upgraded to probable before tipoff.
After missing Cunningham for 11 straight games and Stewart for 13, both players returned Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. The team have had an opportunity this week to get all of their players in a rhythm and focused ahead of the postseason. Cunningham played just over 28 minutes Friday, and Stewart played 16.
"You want to get them minutes," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said pregame. "You also want to take a look at different lineups, different rotations. Obviously both those guys being on minute restrictions and how we stretch that changes rotations a little bit, also. You’ll see some tinkering with the lineup to try to figure out how we get all those guys the minutes that they need and how do we build rotations around them."
Holland finally finding 3-point touch
The second-year forward works on his shot weekly with assistant coach and shooting guru Fred Vinson. With the regular season nearly finished, their work together appears to be paying off.
Holland knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers during a personal 10-0 run in the first quarter, marking his third time in four games with multiple makes beyond the arc. In his four most recent games, he's 9-for-15 from deep – a 60% rate that's a big improvement from his season mark of 24.3%.
You must be registered for see images attach
Despite his struggles through most of the season, the coaching staff wants Holland to stay aggressive and shoot when he's open. The strategy is finally showing results.
“His open shot is the best shot,” Bickerstaff said in March. “We want him to believe that, if he’s doing the other things. His strength is putting pressure on the rim, and if he’s not doing that and just settling for jumpers, then he’s not maximizing his opportunities. But if he’s driving, he’s attacking, he’s defending, he’s running, the ball finds him in the corner, it’s an open shot, that shot is the best shot for us.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons sting Charlotte Hornets for win No. 59
Continue reading...
