By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com

Pistons 93, Heat 92 – The Detroit Pistons overcame a slow start in Tuesday’s victory over the Miami Heat.

LSJ Logo incertThe Heat jumped out to 34-18 lead after the first quarter before Detroit countered with a 36-18 second quarter run to take a two-point lead into the half.

Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 18 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson added 14. Andre Drummond scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.Eye on the D

The Pistons are now 17-12 on the season, good for a second place tie in the Central Division.

Detroit will continue its road swing with a game Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks.

Record: 17-12

Tied for 2nd Place in Central Division (3 games behind Cleveland)

Tied for 4th Place in Eastern Conference (3 games behind Cleveland)

1 game ahead of Charlotte for the last playoff spot

Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 54

Magic # to clinch Central Division title: 59

Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 59

Next Game: 12/23/2015 @ Atlanta Hawks 8:00 p.m. @ Philips Arena

Stats: Reggie Jackson 18 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 14 points, Stanley Johnson 14 points, Andre Drummond 11 points 12 rebounds, Steve Blake 12 points.

 

Devils 4, Red Wings 3 – The Detroit Red Wings fell short of a comeback win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.

The Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead, forcing Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard out of the game during the first period.

The Red Wings got back into the contest with goals from rookie Dylan Larkin and defenseman Mike Green.

Riley Sheahan also added a goal for Detroit late in the third period.

Howard struggled in net for the Red Wings, stopping just three of six shots. Petr Mrazek relieved Howard and stopped 10 of 11 shots.

The Red Wings are now 17-10-7 on the season, good for 41 points and third place in the Atlantic Division.

Detroit will travel to take on the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

Record: 17-10-7  41 pts

3rd Place in Atlantic Division (2 pts behind Montreal)

6th Place in Eastern Conference (11 pts behind Washington)

2 pts ahead of New Jersey for the last playoff spot

Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 93 pts

Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 100 pts

Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference: 110 pts

Next Game: 12/26/2015 @ Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. @ Bridgestone Arena

Stats: Goals- Dylan Larkin (13), Mike Green (2), Riley Sheahan (4). Assists- Pavel Datsyuk (8), Tomas Jurco (2), Niklas Kronwall (12), Brad Richards (6), Henrik Zetterberg (21). Goaltender- Jimmy Howard L (7-5-4) 3 saves on 6 shots Petr Mrazek 10 saves on 11 shots.