An hour after tip tonight, MLIVE published an article titled, "Detroit Pistons looking forward to getting some rest during All-Star break," full of quotes from Pistons players talking about how ready they were for a little R&R. The easy joke there is that the Pistons started their All-Star break a little early rather than showing up to beat the nine-win (now 10) Toronto Raptors.
They did show up, and even held a brief 13-9 lead in the first, but when the Raptors came back to take the lead, the Pistons let them keep it for the rest of the game. Rhythmically, through Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors built upon their lead until it was 23 in the fourth quarter, when I think Rodney Stuckey was already on a plane to Seattle.
Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe, the only two Pistons who will not be getting an extended rest this All-Star weekend, weren't ready to pack it in, though. Knight scored eight and had an assist, and Monroe added six points, in a 16-2 Pistons run to get their team within nine points and a 'Don't Look Now.' Unfortunately, the Raptors quickly put it back to an 11-point deficit and then Frank subbed Tayshaun Prince back into the game. Enjoy your long weekend.
- Greg Monroe scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in his 18th double-double of the season. That's 7th in the NBA this season.
- Brandon Knight was the next highest scorer with 16 points, 10 of them coming in the 4th quarter.
- Rodney Stuckey got into some early foul trouble and that was really it. He didn't take another shot all game and he only played 18-plus minutes. Zero points and zero left on the court tonight.
- With Will Bynum out, Russell Walker filled in admirably and made some sweet dishes. He had a team-high four assists.
- Jonas Jerebko had a tough night -- he fouled out in 18 minutes.
- Jason Maxiell had a pretty strong game in 29 minutes - 12 points, five rebounds, and two blocks.
- Prince took 16 shots and missed 10 of them, but don't worry, he didn't have any turnovers.
- Ben Gordon was 3-for-6 and only played 18 minutes. In the aforelinked MLIVE article, he's excited about watching his "rooks" [sic] in the
Rookie-SophomoreRising Stars game while licking some of his wounds. - Box
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