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It's kind of hard to figure it out by looking only at the box score and quarter lines, but the Pistons trailed by as many as 18 in the second quarter, clawed their way back, and had multiple chances to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes of the game before the Celtics closed it out.
In the 98-93 loss, the Pistons missed a layup, free throw, and three three-pointers in the final two minutes of the fourth. Charlie Villanueva missed all of those threes and 12 other shots in the game. Yep, he was 2 for 17 and 0 for 8 on threes. With Jose Calderon out with a sore right arm (tendon), Villanueva did lead the team in assists, though (5). D'oh.
After Villanueva, the Pistons' starting shooting guard, Brandon Knight, was 2 for 10, including a missed a wide open layup. The two "shooters" combined to be 4 for 27. That's not good.
You know who made his shots, though? Jeff Green. He hit 13 of 19 and all five that he took in the fourth quarter. In the final six minutes, Green put the C's on his back, scored 11 points and carried them to victory.
Gone to waste in the defeat was Greg Monroe's 24 points and 17 rebounds (and six turnovers) and Jonas Jerebko's 19 points on 10 shots and three steals. Rodney Stuckey finished with 22 points thanks to 15 free throw attempts, but was 5 for 16 shooting. Andre Drummond finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Pistons play again on Saturday in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.
GAME BULLETS
* Drummond did not play at all in the fourth quarter. He and Monroe played about 15 minutes together and were minus-5.
* Guess the score winner: dandandtw, a new member, come on down! He said the Celtics would win 98-92, off by only one Rodney Stuckey free throw, and he was at the game apparently. There were some REALLY close ones, none closer than Big Z in Orlando, who said it would be a 98-93 final with his head thinking Celtics win, but his heart was in the wrong. Well, right place at the wrong time. Congrats, dandandtw. Maybe you'll stick around and comment more?
* ROLL CALL - I can't get it to work. Sorry!