Charlotte Hornets Fall to the Detroit Pistons in Overtime, 114-108

In their first game since the all-star break, the Charlotte Hornets blew a double-digit fourth quarter lead and eventually lost to the Pistons.

The Charlotte Hornets (24-33) were defeated by the Detroit Pistons (28-30) as they lost their fifth consecutive game. Steve Clifford’s side was in control for most of the night but they gave up yet another double-digit fourth quarter lead. Kemba Walker‘s big night wasn’t enough to take down Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the home team.

The Hornets’ squad was a bit shorthanded but not more than usual over the past few games. They were without Cody Zeller (quad contusion) who has missed four straight games, Ramon Sessions (knee surgery) who has missed seven consecutive and Miles Plumlee (calf strain) has now missed two in a row. Luckily, other players stepped up with them out like Frank Kaminsky and Mike Tobey. Still waiting to see Ray McCallum make his debut for Charlotte.

Turning Point

Charlotte held an 18-point lead in the third quarter and even a 15-point one in the fourth. After the 10:57 mark, the Hornets 87-72 lead evaporated in a matter of minutes. The Pistons came to within a single possession with 4:41 left in the game but didn’t actually tie it up until there were 18.2 seconds left at 100 after KCP and Kemba traded blows with some clutch shots. In the end, that massive collapse led to Detroit’s dominance of 14-8 in OT.

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Who Stepped Up

Kemba Walker led the Hornets in this one as he finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Nicolas Batum added 18 points and six boards. Frank Kaminsky scored 17 points while Marvin Williams ended with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist recorded a double-double as he scored 12 points and grabbed 14 boards. Jeremy Lamb was the leading scorer off of the bench as he had six points in this one.

The Pistons were led by KCP as he was just short of a double-double with 33 points and nine rebounds. He led Detroit’s comeback in the fourth and eventual run to finish the game in the overtime period. Tobias Harris scored 25 points off of the bench while Marcus Morris had 16 on the night. Andre Drummond (12p, 13r) and Jon Leuer (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers.

Play of the Game:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• Charlotte fell to 3-1 on the season in games where they led by 10+ points at the half.
• The Pistons out-rebounded the Hornets 57-50.
• Steve Clifford’s side only had 19 assists compared to 29 for Detroit.
• Charlotte only committed seven turnovers but only forced eight from the Pistons.
• The Hornets only shot (7-30) 23.3% from three while Detroit shot (15-37) 40.5%.

With the loss, the Hornets fall to 1-3 on the season against the Pistons. This was the fourth and final match between these teams and now Detroit will hold any sort of tiebreaker in the standings if it comes down to that later in the year. Both of Charlotte’s losses in Motown have been heartbreaking this season.

Next: No Moves at the Trade Deadline Shows Hornets' Direction

In their next game, the Charlotte Hornets will travel out west to take on the Sacramento Kings in the second game of their current six-game road trip. It will be their second and final meeting of the season. An interesting note is that the Kings will be without DeMarcus Cousins who they traded during the all-star break.