Detroit Pistons hold off Sacramento Kings for the fourth win
After starting the season with five-straight defeats, the Detroit Pistons continued to bounce back when they held on down the stretch to defeat the Sacramento Kings, 100-94, on Sunday 14
November at the Arco Arena in Sacramento.
Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons attack with his 17 points and seven assists, while Ben Gordon had 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, highlighted by a three-point dagger with 23.9
seconds left in the game that game Detroit a 99-94 lead.
“That's where I've made my money -- in the fourth quarter,” said Gordon, who converted two of his three-point attempts. “On the three-pointer, Tayshaun Prince posted up and my man went to
help and turned his head. That left me open for a split second and I hit the shot.”
Prince had 14 points, while Richard Hamilton and Charlie Villanueva had 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Pistons who stopped several comeback attempts by the Kings to escape with their
fourth win in their last five games.
“We did a great job of coming up with big plays at the end,” said Detroit head coach John Kuester. “We valued the basketball in the second half. That was important, especially down the stretch.
We did not give away opportunities. We did some great things down the stretch.”
Tyreke Evans led all scorers with his 20 points, while Carl Landry scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Sacramento, who have now dropped their last five games after starting the
season with a 3-1 record.
Sacramento had a lot of chances down the stretch as they managed to tie the game at 86 halfway through the final period, but they could not get over the hump and take the lead against Detroit,
who are now starting to get into the groove after struggling earlier this season.
“I think the Pistons are a playoff team in the East,” said Kings head coach Paul Westphal, who was impressed with the Pistons’ performance in their last five games. “I don't think there is
much doubt about it.”
Luther Head finished the game with 13 points, while highly-touted rookie DeMarcus Cousins had six points and eight rebounds, but their productions were not enough to overcome their horrible
2-for-18 shooting from beyond-the-arc.
“We had open threes for really good shots and went 2 of 18,” said Westphal. “Sometimes that is the difference in the game in the NBA. We did not make shots. It was discouraging.”
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