The Charlotte Hornets lost to the Detroit Pistons for the first time in nearly five years on Sunday. It was a 127-126 overtime win for the Pistons, with a buzzer-beater by Kelly Olynyk, dropping the Hornet back two games under .500.
The Hornets had difficulty stopping the Pistons from getting to the basket, even with implementing their bigger lineup of P.J. Washington and Mason Plumlee. Pistons forward Saddiq Bey got whatever he wanted in the first quarter, scoring 13 points, ten of which came in the paint.
Charlotte got a big contribution off the bench from Cody Martin, who missed the last six games before the All-Star break. He was aggressive in attacking the rim and scored a quick seven points. At the end of the first quarter, the Pistons led by 3, 31-28.
After hitting only one of their first 10 three-point shots in the first, the Pistons found their stroke, knocking down 5 of 11 in the second quarter. Back-to-back threes from Terry Rozier, gave the Hornets a short lived lead at the halfway point of the quarter. At the half, the Pistons had a four point edged, 58-54.
Both teams shot the ball effectively in the third quarter and traded the lead back and forth the majority of the quarter. Rozier continued his hot hand, leading the Hornets offense scoring 12 points. Miles Bridges had a couple of hard drives to the basket and threw down an alley-oop on a three quarters-court pass from LaMelo Ball. At the end of the third, the Hornets led by two, 84-82.
In the first five minutes of the final stanza, there was a nip and tuck battle between Kelly Oubre Jr. and Olynuk. Olynuk was on fire, hitting three shots from beyond the arc, while Oubre hit a pair himself. After Olynyk converted his third three-pointer to cut the Hornets lead to 99-96, Hornets coach James Borrego called a timeout to rally the troops.
A few minutes later, rookie Cade Cunningham gave the Pistons the lead with a heavily contested shot in the lane. Once again, Rozier came through for Charlotte, hitting a corner three, getting the lead right back, 112-110. Bey went on a personal 5-0 run to give the Pistons the lead with a putback tip-in and a three-point bomb. Bridges was fouled and knocked down both free throws at the charity strike. Cunningham had an opportunity to push the Pistons lead back to three at the line, but only made one of two foul shot. Washington pulled down the offensive rebound off of a Bridges shot attempt and knotted the game with 4.1 seconds left in regulation. Ball stole the inbound pass, but missed a 16-footer at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime, tied at 116.
The Hornets grabbed control of the extra session early, earning a five point lead. Jerami Grant scored four straight points, slicing Charlotte’s lead to one. Washington missed a point-blank dunk with 24 seconds left, giving the Pistons a chance to take the lead with just a two point field goal. Olynyk hit a game-winning fade away 13-foot jumper over Washington’s outstretched arms as the clock expired.
“A month ago, we would’ve hung our heads and hung our coat at the end of regulation, but we stayed together and stuck together,” Dwane Casey said.
Bey led the Pistons with 28 points. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. Grant contributed 26 points, four rebounds and two assists. Olynyk scored 20 points, with eight boards and three dimes. Cunningham added 19 points, along with five rebounds and six assists.
Rozier had a game-high 22 points, with five rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Hornets. Bridges had a double-double, with 29 points and 10 boards. He also had five dime and one steal. Ball contributed 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two rejections. Oubre scored 15 points, three rebounds, one assists and one block off the bench.
“We have to make shots and be better and make a play down the stretch,” coach James Borrego said. “It isn’t tricky here — one rebound, one stop, one free throw, one shot. We continue to put ourselves in position to win games, we just have to find a way to close out and make one more play.”
The Pistons travel to Washington to face Kristaps Porzingis and the Wizards on Tuesday. The Hornets go to Milwaukee to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Monday on the second night of a back-to-back.
