Aron Baynes did the dirty work while Jodie Meeks, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Reggie Bullock shot the lights out as the Pistons finished with 38 fourth quarter points.
Until then it was a competitive game with Stan Van Gundy still demanding heavy minutes out of his regulars. Despite the back-to-back, Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope still played the whole first and third quarters.
The Jackson-Andre Drummond connection was working despite a lack of pretty alley oops. Jackson finished with 20 points, 2 assists and Drummond contributed 14 points, 10 rebounds, including dominating the offensive boards with 6. He also flashed one of those Drummond steal-dunks that were so common his rookie season.
Marcus Morris was also tough offensively, particularly from mid-range, finishing with 17 on 7-11 shooting.
Caldwell-Pope was invisible for most of the game. Last season's FGA leader didn't attempt a single shot in his 12 first half minutes, though he did at least come through with a few nice hustle plays.
It also wasn't Stanley Johnson's best game of the preseason, though he did flash some nice passing chops and was able to find his way to the rim.
Aron Baynes played his first minutes in a Pistons uniform and it's quickly clear the reason why SVG loved his physical style. He set picks, challenged shots, tapped out rebounds, all the stuff that doesn't show up in the box scores but helps a team win.
Spencer Dinwiddie struggled on both ends in the first half, but was good enough during his stint in the fourth quarter to help the Pistons pull away. After a 0-1, 2 turnover first quarter showing, he put up 7 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds in the final period.
And Reggie Bullock. Dude's doing his damnedest to make this roster. He finished with 7-8 shooting for 17 points, but perhaps more importantly was just extremely active. He was active getting himself open for the clean jumper, he was active getting out on fast breaks, he was active looking for clean cuts, he was active defensively.
He certainly earned his share of votes for that final roster spot tonight.