By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Pistons 112, Hornets 105 – The Pistons held on to defeat the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night to pick up their season-high fifth straight victory.
The Pistons jumped out to a 36-24 lead after the first quarter, led 72-56 at halftime and had a commanding 98-76 advantage after three quarters.
Detroit held on to its lead dispite being outscored by the Hornets 29-14 during the fourth quarter.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope paced the Pistons with 21 points, while Marcus Morris added 20 and Andre Drummond picked up another double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
The Hornets were led by Kemba Walker with a game-high 29 points while Jeremy Lamb chipped in with 11 off the Charlotte bench.
The Pistons are now 39-34 on the season, good for a seventh place tie in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They are two games ahead of the Chicago Bulls for the last playoff spot with nine games remaining.
Detroit will continue its long home stand on Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
Record: 39-34
Tied for 2nd Place in Central Division (12.5 games behind Cleveland)
Tied for 7th Place in Eastern Conference (12.5 games behind Cleveland)
2 games ahead of Chicago for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 9
Misery # towards elimination from playoff contention: 13
Eliminated from Central Division and Eastern Conference title contention.
Next Game: 03/26/2016 vs. Atlanta Hawks 7:30 p.m. @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Stats: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 21 points, Marcus Morris 20 points, Andre Drummond 18 points 14 rebounds, Reggie Jackson 17 points 7 assists, Aron Baynes 16 points 8 rebounds.
