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The Chicago Bulls gave the Pistons a good run despite being on the second night of a back to back (and their fourth game in five nights), but eventually ran out of gas. Pistons bench carried them past the Bulls with some stellar play, winning 102-91.
Tobias Harris put up 22 and Andre Drummond grabbed another double-double with 15 points and 10 boards, but again the real story tonight was the stellar play of the Pistons second unit which dropped 33 points (!!!).
Ish Smith was a playground maestro at the Palace tonight, pushing the pace and making smart passes like a teenager on Red Bull in a Toyota Prius.
He dropped 10 dimes and 7 points while playing the entire fourth quarter and sealing the victory. Aron Baynes also got big minutes, playing 23 and putting up 8 points with 9 boards. Leuer got in on the action too with some solid dunks and 9 points.
At one point the Pistons had a 17 point lead and at about halfway through the first quarter, I signed up for the quick recap.
“Sure Jamie, it’s all you tonight! Go for it”
Suddenly, I remember my quick recap cold streak from last year.
Then the Pistons shooting goes cold. Then the Bulls take the lead in the 3rd quarter.
Truth be told, I almost mailed this in and told the DBB staff “lol jk guys.”
Luckily, the lineup of Ish Smith, Hilliard, Tobias, Leuer and Baynes had different ideas and oh my god that is a lineup I never thought I would type out and be praising like this. Thanks to the contribution of this lineup, the Pistons put together an impressive 4th quarter run.
A 19-8 #Pistons run since falling behind by 4 and they lead by 11 with 2:51 left
— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) December 7, 2016
Even the bench guys who have been struggling were psyched. It’s sad how excited this tweet made me.
Hilliard corner triple and #Pistons lead by 8. Stanley first guy to jump off the bench clapping.
— NerdOnTw1tter (@Vincent_Ellis56) December 7, 2016
The starters weren’t by any means a mess, after a tough Bulls 6-0 run to start the second half, Reggie Jackson, Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Moriss settled down defensively and helped stop a run without wastin a Stan timeout. To me this was huge, something that won’t show up on any highlight but a moment that showed the subtle maturity of a young team.
And, there was this.
Roll call:
| # | Commenter | # Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Lambregtse | 65 |
| 2 | CheerstoLilWayne | 43 |
| 3 | BigBensFro | 43 |
| 4 | Makeithappen19 | 38 |
| 5 | mannie32 | 36 |
| 6 | The Notorious S.V.G | 31 |
| 7 | sje | 28 |
| 8 | buzzardbeater | 26 |
| 9 | jayod | 22 |
| 10 | Crosseyed | 22 |
| 11 | feez_22 | 17 |
| 12 | Christopher Daniels | 17 |
| 13 | IamPAP | 16 |
| 14 | arkioll | 13 |
| 15 | nbahsan | 11 |
| 16 | ArumLily | 8 |
| 17 | Jopl | 7 |
| 18 | Merwinly | 7 |
| 19 | agletdave | 5 |
| 20 | Rban | 5 |
| 21 | RSF86 | 5 |
| 22 | HaterWade | 5 |
| 23 | cbraendle | 4 |
| 24 | V. | 4 |
| 25 | BandWagonerPaysTheDues | 4 |
| 26 | Bruce_F | 3 |
| 27 | Twenty9andTwenty7 | 3 |
| 28 | ADrain | 2 |
| 29 | dimes5 | 2 |
| 30 | bugman222 | 2 |
| 31 | MrHappyMushroom | 1 |
| 32 | alaskanpistonsfan | 1 |
| 33 | The Better Morris Twin | 1 |
| 34 | iPlay2K | 1 |
| 35 | keyesek | 1 |
| 36 | JWurm | 1 |
| 37 | jbbg936 | 1 |