Just like their inner-city counterpart, the Pistons held a big lead in the third before almost blowing it. (The Red Wings gave up a three goal lead before winning in a shootout.)

Detroit came out on fire. Brandon Jennings assisted our first five field goals, and we scored 35 in the first quarter. Despite losing Andre Drummond to foul trouble, Greg Monroe filled in down low. “Moose” came off the bench with three minutes ’til halftime and our lead dwindling. He made four straight shots and assisted another. His final rebound set up Kyle Singler’s three at the buzzer to give us a 17-point lead. Big “Moose” shot 9-10 in that first half.

Good Move, Joe

Good Move, Joe

We kept rolling to start the second half, taking a 71-50 lead on a Jennings to Drummond alley-oop. Those two kept us alive offensively the whole quarter, with Drummond staying out of foul trouble. Unfortunately, we let the Magic close out the third the way we did the half, ending with an 11-4 run.

They suddenly had hope. The Pistons (and their fans) seemed to be looking up at the scoreboard, waiting for the point fairy to add to our total. A complete lack of defense carried over to the fourth. Without Jennings, no one knew what to do on offense, either. When he subbed back in for D.J. Augustin with seven minutes to go, Orlando was within two.

Instantly, our offense was sparked back to life. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a giant three and was fouled, finally pushing us over the 100-point mark. The Magic coach also helped Detroit out down the stretch. He called a timeout when the pace was favoring his squad down just four.

It helped us slow down and regain our swag, finding the defense that gave us that big lead. Our crowd also regrouped, bringing the volume I’m accustomed to at the Palace. From there, it was the Jennings show. He made two jumpers for some breathing room, then went on an assisting tear. Anytime Drummond got near the hoop, in came the lob for a vicious throwdown.

Thanks to Jennings, we won 128-118. Our point guard went for 24 and dished out 21 dimes, a high for anyone in the NBA this season. Drummond scored 26 along with 17 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks, plus every starter reached double-digits. We also scored 30 in each quarter for our most total points in six years.