Pistons 92, Bobcats 91
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlie Villanueva scored 18 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and hit a go-ahead drive with 15.0 seconds left to give the Detroit Pistons a 92-91 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Pistons held on when Charlotte's Kemba Walker missed a drive and Josh McRoberts missed a follow shot in the final four seconds.
The win snapped a 10-game losing streak and moved the Pistons to 24-47. The Bobcats had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to a league-worst 16-53.
The Pistons also got 14 points from Jason Maxiell, 13 from Rodney Stuckey, 11 from Jose Calderon and 10 from Brandon Knight. Leading scorer Greg Monroe was limited to six but came up with a key rebound off a Villanueva miss and fed Villanueva for what turned out to be the game-winning layup.
Walker led Charlotte with 25 points. Jannero Pargo scored 16, Gerald Henderson 15, Bismack Biyombo 12 with 10 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 11.
Detroit scored the first nine points of the game but the Bobcats fought back to lead 24-23 after one quarter and 50-47 at halftime. Pargo then erupted for 11 third-quarter points as the Bobcats pushed the lead to 10 midway through the period and took a 76-69 lead into the fourth.
Detroit eventually battled back thanks to consecutive 3-pointers by Villanueva to take an 81-80 lead with 6:14 remaining, and the lead changed hands eight more times from there until Villanueva's layup made it 92-91 Detroit with 15.0 seconds left.
NOTES: Knight returned to the Pistons' starting lineup after missing four games with a sprained ankle. The Pistons continue to be without Andre Drummond, but he is back working out with the team and could return soon. ... This was the third of four meetings between the teams this season. The Bobcats won the first game in Auburn Hills 108-101 in overtime on Jan. 6, then the Pistons won 105-99 in Charlotte on Feb. 20. The teams will meet again in Auburn Hills on April 12. ... Brendan Haywood is out for the rest of the season with a stress reaction in his right foot, but the Bobcats don't expect to make any roster moves to replace him. Ramon Sessions (knee) and DeSagana Diop (knee) also remain out. ... The Pistons were coming off a 103-89 loss at Miami on Friday, as the Heat extended its winning streak to 25 straight. Monroe had 23 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Pistons in that game. ... The Pistons hadn't won since Feb. 27 at Washington. They had lost by an average margin of 17.2 during the skid. ... Monroe has a career-best 31 double-doubles this season. ... The game matched up the only two players in the NBA from Sweden, Charlotte's Jeffery Taylor and Detroit's Jonas Jerebko. ... The Bobcats will play at Miami on Sunday and play four of their next five on the road. ... The Pistons will return home to face Minnesota on Tuesday.
