Down 11 at halftime, the Pistons huddled up. Andre Drummond said they looked each other in the eye as men and asked, “Do we want this?” And the answer was, “Yes.”

Josh Smith led the charge, igniting a Pistons run that forced a Hawk timeout. Then, there was the steal: Kyle Singler and another Detroiter dove for a loose ball at mid court simultaneously. If you saw it live, you know. It makes you proud as a fan to see that kind of hustle.

That play was followed up by the best dunk in the NBA this season: Andre Drummond putting Elton Brand on a poster and on the ground. Drummond stole the ball at half-court and took it the length, not stopping when Brand fouled him too far from the basket for him (apparently) to finish – however, Andre had other plans, instead defying gravity and dunking over the Hawk for an AND ONE. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. Rasheed went insane. Let’s watch:

When you’re watching live, it’s an amazing moment. It slows down, and there’s that second when he’s in the air where you kind of hold your breath, because knowing Drummond, he’s trying to finish, and Brand is a big power forward coming in for a likely hard foul: it’s like, he can’t… can he? Then he does.

In sports, we get set up for a big moment a lot until we actually get to feel it, and it’s like every bad moment can be released in one jam.

This propelled the Palace to new heights, and the Pistons, too. The game was tied at 104 with the game winding down, and Kyle Singler drilled a three from the baseline. After a Will Bynum basket and a foul, Singler repeated the act, nailing another from downtown. The Pistons won 115-107.

Smith, Greg Monroe, and Drummond – the Detroit frontcourt – each compiled a double-double. Brandon Jennings dished out 14 dimes with only one turnover and also sacrificed his spot for Bynum in the end. A true leader.

It was exactly the half of basketball you wanted to see from your Detroit Pistons.