Ben Gordon erupts in the fourth as Detroit Pistons edge past Toronto Raptors – NBA Recap
The Detroit Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors 76-73 in a low scoring game here at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. Both teams had an off shooting night, but Ben Gordon scored 15 of his 19 points in the 4th quarter to guide the Pistons to victory.
The Raps came in the game having lost six of their last eight games, while Detroit had lost four of their last 6. Both teams are already out of playoff contention.
DeMar DeRozan had 16 points from 7 of 15 shooting from the field to lead the Raptors scoring.
"Anytime you can get any kind of positive feel from winning, there's always value in that. Although you might not make the playoffs, you still want to grind it out and take every game like it's your last. That's what playoff teams do and that's how you develop into a playoff team” said Gordon after the game.
It was a very slow first half as both teams struggled to find their rhythm on the floor and shot poorly. Toronto managed 34 points by halftime while Detroit had 29. The match was quite balanced throughout, with 21 lead changes and 16 ties. The Biggest lead of the match was 6 by Toronto.
The match was tied at 68 when Ben Gordon sank a three point shot to give Detroit a three point lead, and then followed it up with a free throw, extending the Pistons lead by 4 with 2:13 left in the game.
A tip in by Alabi had Toronto trailing 73-74 with 39 seconds left in the game. However, Alan Anderson missed a jump shot and a three point shot in the final 30 seconds of the game and Detroit held on to win 76-73. Anderson had a poor shooting performance for the night, going 2 of 12 from the field for his 4 points.
Both teams shot poorly, with Detroit going 36.6% from the field and Toronto managing 37.7%. Toronto was 4 of 13 from beyond the arc and Detroit was 2 of 15 from the same distance. Even their free throws were off, with no team managing more than 70% success in free throws.
Detroit had an 11 point free throw advantage over the Raptors owing to the fact that Toronto had 28 fouls compared to 10 by Detroit. The Pistons also had 5 fewer turnovers than Toronto.
Brandon Knight had 19 points for the Pistons but other than Knight and Gordon, no Detroit player had double figure points. Veteran Pistons Forward Tayshaun Prince was 3 of 8 from the field for his 9 points. Greg Monroe added only 8 points but grabbed game high 17 rebounds. Linas Kleiza had 12 points off the bench for Toronto and Gary Forbes also added 10.
The Pistons and Raptors both have 2 games remaining in the season after which they will go into post season activities and try to come back next year better and stronger.
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