NBA Game Preview - Charlotte at Detroit

Fri Nov 29, 2019 7:00 PM EST

The Detroit Pistons have suffered two excruciating road losses to the Charlotte Hornets this season, and they will not have to wait long to seek some payback for the latest defeat.

Charlotte won the first meeting 109-106 on Nov. 15 on Malik Monk's buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The rematch on Wednesday provided more heartbreak for the Pistons.

Detroit had a chance to win in the final seconds but sixth man Derrick Rose, well-guarded in the lane, passed the ball as the clock ran out. The lack of clock awareness allowed Charlotte to hang on for a 102-101 victory.

They'll play again on Friday, this time at Detroit.

Charlotte outscored Detroit 31-20 in the third quarter Wednesday and hung on despite scoring just 16 fourth-quarter points. The Hornets have defeated the Pistons eight consecutive times.

"I don't really just look at the end," Pistons forward Blake Griffin said. "I look at the stretches that we had where we just couldn't put together a stop or really get what we want offensively. But it's most frustrating because when we wanted to, we got stops and when we wanted to, we got out and ran and got easy buckets. We just became stagnant at times."

That was particularly apparent in their 3-point percentage, as the Pistons shot just 10 for 32 from long range. Griffin, who missed the team's first 10 games due to hamstring and knee injuries, scored a season-high 26 points but the poor third quarter and the failed final possession doomed Detroit.

"The great thing about the league is we got another game to win Friday," Rose said. "We have time to be with our family tomorrow and understand that Friday we have the same team, so we have a chance to correct all the errors that we had during the game and understand that this team thinks they got our number."

The first meeting had a similar theme. The Hornets gained the upper hand by outscoring the Pistons 32-18 in the third quarter.

"Whether we change the lineup or whatever it is I am not sure what we have to do to get ourselves going in that period of time but whatever it is tonight it bit us in the behind," Pistons coach Dwane Casey said.

Charlotte committed just four turnovers Wednesday as Devonte' Graham dissected Detroit's defense with 16 points and a career-high 15 assists.

"I really liked the way our ball moved tonight," Hornets coach James Borrego said. "Spacing, the shots we were getting were fantastic. They probably didn't drop as much as we would had hoped, but what sustained us, and has to sustain us, is our defense. This is back-to-back games against Detroit where we held them to 41 points in the second half and that's really what got this game tonight."

The Hornets also got unexpected contributions from center Bismack Biyombo, who had a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds. He filled in for Cody Zeller, who sat out due to a hip injury. Nicolas Batum added a season-high 13 points off the bench.

"Obviously we missed Cody tonight, but Biz stepped in," Borretgo said. "He gives us rim protection, protects the paint, talks, he's active defensively. Nic did the same thing. I thought Nic did a great job on Derrick Rose."

--Field Level Media