The Pistons are firmly looking towards the future with this season, as they find themselves with the second worst record in the East, but Detroit has been more competitive of late, winning three of their last four games including a thriller on Sunday in Charlotte.
Jerami Grant, who the Pistons somewhat surprisingly kept at the trade deadline, has started to find a rhythm, while Cade Cunningham has shaken free of his early season slump to look like the player Detroit fans were hoping for with the first-overall pick. The result is a team that is easy to overlook on the schedule and has a chance to play spoiler for teams fighting for seeding, as they did Sunday against the Hornets.
The Pistons nearly had the win in regulation, but PJ Washington was able to get a putback bucket with under five seconds left to tie things up and force an extra period.
P.J. Washington follows the shot to force OT in Charlotte!
Watch Here: https://t.co/oz9UCQxdQa pic.twitter.com/0rMBewYIea
— NBA (@NBA) February 28, 2022
Entering Sunday, the Hornets were 0-6 in overtimes this season, and Sunday’s loss followed a familiar refrain. A hot shooting start to overtime, led by Terry Rozier, didn’t yield a significant lead as Charlotte couldn’t get consistent shots and, ultimately, they found themselves up just one with the clock winding down. After a Cunningham midrange jumper bounced off the iron, Isaiah Stewart and PJ Washington got tied up on the rebound and Jerami Grant ran down the ensuing jumpball allowing Detroit to call timeout.
With 2.1 seconds to go, they had a side-out and got the ball to veteran big man Kelly Olynyk, who faded over Washington for the high-arcing game-winner.
Kelly Olynyk hits the game winner vs. Hornets
pic.twitter.com/vcolsKgngD
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 28, 2022
It’s another quality performance from the Pistons, who got 20 points from Olynyk, 26 points from Grant, 19 from Cunningham, and 28 from Saddiq Bey in the win. For Charlotte, it’s a rather dismal loss that drops them back into a tie with the Hawks for the ninth and tenth spots in the East, keeping the Wizards alive in the chase at two games back of the play-in.
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