Reggie Jackson looked like the Reggie Jackson of old in the fourth quarter, powering the Pistons to a 111-104 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena.
Jackson had 22 points and was in full hero ball mode in the fourth quarter. The funny thing about hero ball, though, is that sometimes you’re the hero.
On Friday, Jackson was the hero. With the game tied at 100 and Detroit looking like they were going to give the game away to a feisty Hawks squad, Jackson scored 8 points in the final 52 seconds, including two clutch 3s.
No, there wasn’t a lot of passing. But sometimes Jackson can find himself in the zone. He did it often in 2015-16 when he was the most dangerous fourth quarter scorer in the league.
Jackson had six assists and two steals to go with his 22 points. Avery Bradley added 20, Andre Drummond got near triple double territory with 26 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists. He also hit two clutch free-throws(!) late when the game was tied to keep Detroit ahead.
It was a big test for Drummond, who was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line a game after going 0-of-7 and making some wonder if he was in danger of backsliding from the stripe.
It looks like Drummond has turned the corner. It looks like Jackson is back. And it looks like the 9-3 Pistons are as dangerous as anyone in the Eastern Conference.