The Pistons finally broke whatever curse that the Pacers had on them Wednesday night at the Palace in their 109-115 overtime victory. Despite shooting over 65% in the first half and looking better than they have looked in quite some time, Detroit managed to let the Pacers back in the game late in the forth quarter. You could say this one went into overtime because of the two not foul calls on the last play that Danny Granger looked like he committed on Tayshaun Prince.
Key Points:
- Somethings got to give, Rip on the bench again in street clothes.
- Tayshaun Prince looked like an all-star, leading the Pistons with 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting in 29 minutes on the floor. A double-double for Prince adding 11 boards and 2 assists in one of those games that Tay just takes over.
Tayshaun Prince: “I was very surprised, I felt the contact, not just before I shot, but once I shot, too. I was also surprised at the reaction he gave me. But we kept our heads in it in overtime. (Rodney) Stuckey played well for us in overtime, attacking the rim, then (Ben Gordon) hit some tough shots for us, too.”
- One of the better performances from Rodney Stuckey since he missed those games after the hard check by Melo against the Nuggets. Rodney scored 18 points with 6 assists in 28 minutes.
- Congrats to Tracy McGrady who scored his 18,000th career point against the Pacers. He finished the game with 15 points, 4 assists and 5 boards in 29 minutes on the floor.
- The dunktastic highlights via Pistons.com
[flashvideo file=http://nba.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/teams/pistons/2011/02/17/INDrecapwmov-1560506.flv /]
- 56 points in the paint for Detroit and Indiana.
- Ben Gordon playing like that guy we remember from the Bulls. Ben scored 16 points on 8-for-14 shooting in 30 minutes and put up the Pistons first four points in OT. Did I mention a sweet reverse circus shot?
[flashvideo file=http://nba.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/games/pistons/2011/02/16/0021000828_ind_det_play4.nba_nba_576x324.flv /]
Video via NBA.com
- So what’s up with Josh McRoberts and his jams, great highlight all night from the Pacer.
- Roy Hibbert got whatever he wanted all night long with a game high 29 for Indiana.
- The Pistons led by as much as 12 in this one.
- For all the dysfunction surrounding the team, they played just like one (a team) on Wednesday night.
- Sometimes you just have to take a guy out when he’s letting the other team back in. Bynum scored 5 on 2-for-7 shooting with 7 assists in 17 minutes.
- How about Chris Wilcox’s one handed alley-oop dunk from Charlie V! Chris with 12 points and 6 boards in 15 minutes on the floor.
- Greg Monroe with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting with 4 boards and 2 blocked shots. Can’t say enough about his game.
- Don’t forget to watch Monroe in the All-Star Rookie/Sophomore game.
- How do you shoot so well and have to go into OT?
- The win gained the Pistons a full game in the playoff run. The Pistons are 4 back from Indian for last spot in the East.
- The sale and the deadline is looming so enjoy the All-Star break Pistons fans and hope for something when it’s over.
Q: How do you shoot so well and have to go into OT?
A: missing a long jumper when points in the paint or from the line would have clinched it.
Fun game though.
edt- monroes dunk is the first one on the dunk highlights above, steal by monroe pass to stuckey assist stuckey to monroe. it was pretty.
New realistic objective for this team: don’t lose 50 games! I’ll take it.
tks i missed that dunk for some reason
Damn that “Indian” and its holding down the last playoff spot in the east! 😉
what did monroe do in the rook game? i cant find the boxscore anywhere they all just talk about wall cousins and griffin. wtf
The roster isn’t even that bad with Gordon and Charlie, so I’m not sure why they are under performing like this. 11th in the East really isn’t acceptable.
hey guys go over to http://www.pistons.com they have a great deal right now for either the heat game or the bulls game(the one they are retiring rodmans number at) you get upper lvl tick for $49 a t-shirt and u get 2 upper lvl ticks to your choice of another home game. if you up grade to the lower lvl tick $99 for the heat or bulls game you also get access to club 53!! i dont know about you guys but that is a great deal. i got me and my wife the bulls game and the upgrade lower lvl, rodman is her favorite pistons player so i thought it would be a sweet game to attend. for $198 i got 2 lower lv tickets to the bulls game 2 free t-s, club 53 access, and 4 upper lvl tickets to the pacers game mar 26 ( i have to go on fri or sat cuase of work-sucks). check it out guys, ill be there with my stuckey jersey on, wife with her jerebko jersey.
Actually Monroe did a pretty good job with 14 points 8 rebounds 3 assist and a steal.
Too bad they couldn’t get this sale done well before the trade deadline.