Pistons at Pacers final score: Drummond hits game winner, Pistons win 98-96

A tough, physical game came down to a tough, physical ending.

With two minutes to go, Roy Hibbert pulled the Indiana Pacers to within one point with a jumper. A Solomon Hill steal from Greg Monroe led to a David West jumper to put Indiana in the lead.

The Pacers kept themselves into the game by beating up on the Pistons, taking advantage of what the officials allowed. But perhaps the only Piston able to turn Indiana's physical play against them was Brandon Jennings. He did that with just under a minute to go to draw a foul against Hill, knocking down both shots for his 36th and 37th points of the game.

West drew a foul at the other end and hit one to tie the game with 54 seconds to go. Jennings brought it down for a fall-away on the baseline with 38 left on the clock to ensure the Pistons had a crack at the final possession. He didn't hit it but still, heads up play.

With Indiana's chance to take the lead, they isolated Roy Hibbert against Drummond in the post - Drummond had some difficulty with Hibbert all night. But when Hibbert made contact with Dre, he hit the deck. Even while dropping to the ground, Drummond was looking to the ref. He got the call.

With just under a shot clock left to play, Jennings ran down the clock on the other end. He found a nice look for a floater, missed, but Drummond was there to tip it in for the game winner.

Fractions of a second remained, and the Pistons pulled into a tie for the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Andre Drummond bounced back with a clutch performance after a few rough games, tossing up 16 points and 16 rebounds.

But it was Brandon Jennings who was the star. He scored 37 points, including 8 three pointers and hit 9-9 from the stripe.

The Pistons clearly had a talent advantage in the game, but the Pacers looked to make up the gap with physical play. The officials obliged. Despite a consistently physical approach by Indiana, point guard C.J. Watson was the only player with more than 3 fouls.

Next up, the Pistons host the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow.