Despite playing their last game of a six day trip in Detroit while after blizzard like conditions, the (if they have it their way) Charlotte Bobcats took an important game Wednesday night at the Palace. Despite going blow for blow with the Bobcats through three quarter, everything seemed to collapse in the fourth for Detroit who lost their fourth straight (97-87) to a team that is fighting for the same playoff sport they are.

Key Points

• Stephen Jackson scores 26 points through three quarters and then decides to add a little more in the fourth for a season high 39 points.
• This game just looked messy.
• 40 points in the paint for Charlotte…come on.
• You know what kind of game your watching when….. Kwame Brown could be the player of the game with 14 points and 10 boards. It almost looked like he got a hand transplant. Good for you Kwame!
• Detroit shot below 40% in the first half and were outrebound by 12…and it looked that way.
• Despite having to give free upper level tickets away the fans that did brave the roads should have been treated to a better game.
• Multiple “We want Rip” chants at the Palace, who was on the bench and dressed, but apparently told Kuester (through Arnie Kandor) he couldn’t go. Don’t the fans know he’s got a horrible case of the flu that even the Center for Disease Control cant cure?

Charlie Villanueva: “They made a run and we didn’t have an answer for it,” Villanueva said. “We dug ourselves into a hole late into the fourth and they took advantage of it.”

• Highlights of the game via Pistons.com

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• Ben Wallace played 17 minutes and was a -16, with 4 boards and 2 blocked shots. Despite not playing in days, he looked exhausted.
• Charlotte’s biggest lead was 18 and the Pistons was 8.
• Detroit’s bench (the highest scoring in the league) was outscored 24-22.
• Chris Wilcox starts and puts up 7 points, with 5 boards in 18 minutes…and one dunk that was about the only thing that rocked the Palace.

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Video Courtesy of NBA.com

• The Pistons were led by Ben Gordon, who scored 20 on 8-for-18 shooting.
• Non existent defense from Detroit. When you let Kwame Brown go in for an uncontested dunk and punk you all night long you know you have work to do.
• Eight boards and 10 points from Greg Monroe, who will be representing the Pistons All-Star weekend. Monroe will be laying in the Rookie/Sophomore game. Nice to see him getting recognized for all the hard work he’s putting in on the floor.
• Not much from Charlie V in his 15 minutes. He scored 3 points and with 3 boards and a steal. I’m sure he he’d like to forget everything about that game except this ally oop pass from T-Mac.

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Video Courtesy of NBA.com

• Tay with 16 and Daye with 11.
• Tracy McGrady seemed to fade after the half. He finished with 12 points and 8 assists but did most all his damage in the first half of the game.
• With this loss the Pistons are 4 1/2 games back from Charlotte for the last playoff spot in the East.
• A whopping 8 blocks on the night for Detroit. The Tayshaun Prince one stood out most for me.
• This one was rough, regardless of the blizzard.

If you didn’t already know, I attended the game as part of The Pistons Social Media Night.  I had a Need4Swede, was interviewed by Heather Zara for Pistons.com, got to ask Charlie Villanueva about coming off the bench and took video along the way.  Look out for the SWEDEtastic recap of the night very soon.

Cant wait to tell you what Jonas said to me.