By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Pistons 108, Clippers 97 – The Pistons held on to defeat the Western Conference leading Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit, which has now won two straight games, jumped out to a 35-23 lead after the first quarter and led at halftime 57-48 before its lead was cut to 82-80 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Pistons closed the game with a 26-17 fourth quarter tear to seal an 11-point victory.
Marcus Morris led Detroit with 17 points while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16 points and 10 assists. Andre Drummond chipped in with 16 points 10 rebounds for the Pistons and Ish Smith had 16 points.
The Clippers were led by Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick with a game-high 24 points.
Detroit, which is now 8-9 on the season, will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night on the road looking to maintain its winning streak.
Record: 8-9
Tied for 3rd Place in Central Division (5.5 games behind first place Cleveland)
Tied for 8th Place in Eastern Conference (5.5 games behind first place Cleveland)
Tied with Indiana for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 66
Magic # to clinch a Central Division title: 73
Magic # to clinch a regular season Eastern Conference title: 73
Next Game: 11/26/2016 @ Oklahoma City Thunder 8:00 p.m. @ Chesapeake Energy Arena
Stats: Marcus Morris 17 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 16 points 10 assists, Andre Drummond 16 points 10 rebounds, Ish Smith 7 assists, Tobias Harris 15 points, Jon Leuer 11 points 11 rebounds.
Red Wings 5, Devils 4 (OT) – Mike Green’s overtime game-winning goal with 1:42 left sparked the Red Wings to a win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
The Red Wings, who are now on a two-game winning streak, are 10-10-1 on the season and tied for fifth-place in the Atlantic Division.
Frans Nielsen paced Detroit with two goals and one assist while Anthony Mantha added a goal and an assist.
Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader and Henrik Zetterberg each chipped in with two assists.
Petr Mrazek picked up the win in net for the Red Wings after relieving starting net minder Jimmy Howard, who left the game with a groin injury.
Mrazek stopped 13 of 16 shots while Howard stopped two of three New Jersey shots.
Mike Cammalleri led the Devils with a goal and an assist while Travis Zajac contributed with two assists.
The Red Wings will return home to face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night looking to maintain their winning streak.
Record: 10-10-1 21 pts
Tied 5th Place in Atlantic Division (11 points behind first place Montreal)
Tied for 10th Place in Eastern Conference (11 points behind Montreal)
3 points behind New Jersey for the last playoff spot
Magic # of pts to clinch a playoff berth: 127 pts
Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Atlantic Division title: 134 pts
Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Eastern Conference title: 134 pts
Next Game: 11/26/2016 vs Montreal Canadiens 7:30 p.m. @ Joe Louis Arena
Stats: Goals- Frans Nielsen 2 (5), Dylan Larkin (6), Anthony Mantha (2), Mike Green (4). Assists- Justin Abdelkader 2 (4), Riley Sheahan (4), Gustav Nyquist (10), Henrik Zetterberg 2 (11), Nielsen (6), Mantha (2). Goalie- Petr Mrazek W (5-5-1) 13 saves on 16 shots, Jimmy Howard 2 saves on 3 shots.
