Charlotte improved to 9-Three at home.Zeller started at center for the Hornets (12-Eight) with Jefferson nonetheless out as a outcome of a strained left calf. Not only has the Pistons’ big man averaged a double-double so far this season, but he’s poured in 18.5 points per game on an efficient 52.7% shooting from the field.
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But Jackson, who struggled with foul trouble on the same day he was named Eastern Conference player of the week, had a message for the guys who are passing up open looks. Nicolas Batum added 13 points, eight assists and 7 rebounds in another solid all-around game for the Hornets (12-Eight).The Pistons (12-10) have been led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 16 points & Ersan Ilyasova’s 15 points & 11 rebounds.
The young core of stars with Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and company have looked unsafe at certain times and if they can click on all cylinders, the Pistons can be one of the more risky teams to face.
The Hornets were led by Cody Zeller who had a huge game with 20 points and six rebounds.
Steve Clifford’s gameplan worked out for the Hornets in more ways than one: Pistons center and team-wide focal point Andre Drummond picked up his fifth foul with seven minutes left in the third quarter, and he would play only 24 minutes, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds. The Hornets were 4-15 at this time last season….
He finished with five points on 2-of-15 shooting.
Ilyasova is shooting almost 40% from three-point range, and shouldn’t be passing up open shots. The Hornets led by 11 at halftime still stretched in that to 26 late within the 3rd quarter behind an uncontested dunk within the lane by Spencer Hawes off an over-the-shoulder feed from Jeremy Lin. Rookie guard Aaron Harrison played for just the third time this season.
But the Hornets stormed back and left no doubt.
The Pistons were listless in the first half, allowing the Hornets 62 points for their highest yield of the season, but the game was still well within reach at 11 points.
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The Pistons bench put together a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 88-75 with 10:03 remaining, but there wasn’t going to be any miraculous finishes as the Hornets quickly pushed the lead above 20. Bryant was questionable to play because of an illness. “We’ve got to be ready to push through the aches and pains of playing the night before and tonight we caught a really good team in Charlotte”. “It is clear to everybody that they played harder than us and they deserved to win”.
