By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Pistons 147, Bulls 144 (4OT) – It took four overtimes for the Detroit Pistons to beat the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
The Pistons outscored Chicago 20-17 during the fourth extra session.
Andre Drummond led the Pistons 33 points and 21 rebounds, while Reggie Jackson added 31 points and 13 assists.
The Pistons are now 16-12 on the season, good for fourth place in the Central Division.
Detroit will travel to take on the Miami Heat Tuesday night.
Record: 16-12
4th Place in Central Division (3 games behind Cleveland)
Tied for 7th Place in Eastern Conference (3 games behind Cleveland)
Tied with Atlanta and Orlando for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 55
Magic # to clinch Central Division title: 60
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 60
Next Game: 12/22/2015 @ Miami Heat 7:30 p.m. @ American Airlines Arena
Stats: Andre Drummond 33 points 21 rebounds, Reggie Jackson 31 points 13 assists, Marcus Morris 20 points, Ersan Ilyasova 18 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 17 points, Stanley Johnson 16 points.
Canucks 4, Red Wings 3 (SO) – It took a seven round shootout for the Vancouver Canucks to beat the Red Wings on Friday night.
Linden Vey scored the game-winning shootout goal to give Vancouver a 2-1 edge in the one-on-one stanza.
Henrik Zetterberg forced overtime, tying the game with 1:07 left in regulation, Pavel Datsyuk and Joakim Andersson also scored goals for the Red Wings.
Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard took the shootout loss, stopping 37 of 40 shots.
The Red Wings are now 16-9-7 on the season, good for 39 points and a second place tie in the Atlantic Division.
Detroit will stay at home to host the Calgary Flames on Sunday night.
Record: 16-9-7 39 pts
Tied for 3rd Place in Atlantic Division (4 pts behind Montreal)
Tied for 6th Place in Eastern Conference (9 pts behind Washington)
3 pts ahead of New Jersey for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 98 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 104 pts
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference: 112 pts
Next Game: 12/20/2015 vs. Calgary Flames 7:00 p.m. @ Joe Louis Arena
Stats: Goals- Joakim Andersson (1), Pavel Datsyuk (3), Henrik Zetterberg (6). Assists- Datsyuk (7), Danny DeKeyser (5), Luke Glendening (6), Alexei Marchenko (2), Brendan Smith (3). Goaltender- Jimmy Howard SOL (7-4-4) 37 saves on 40 shots.
