Detroit Pistons rally but controversial call helps Toronto Raptors to 95-91 win
The Detroit Pistons used an 8-0 fourth-quarter run to tie their Saturday matinee against the Toronto Raptors with fewer than four minutes remaining, but a controversial call helped seal their fate in a 95-91 loss at Little Caesars Arena.
A poster dunk by Isaiah Livers and a pair of free throws by Jaden Ivey brought the Pistons within 91-90 at the 53-second mark.
But late-game execution cost the Pistons a come-from-behind win. All-Star Pascal Siakam made two free throws with 11 seconds left to give the Raptors a 93-90 cushion, and Toronto then fouled Marvin Bagley III with 4.3 seconds left on the other end. Bagley split his trip to the line, and Siakam made two on the other end to clinch a 95-91 victory.
The Pistons felt Bagley was in his shooting motion and should have been given three attempts to tie the game.
"I have no clue (why), and that boggles my mind with four seconds to go," frustrated Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. "What else are you going to do? There’s no explanation. They didn’t give him the three point shot. He was going into his shooting motion."
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Bagley, who returned from a 20-game absence after suffering two metacarpal fractures in his right hand, shined in his first game back with 21 points and 18 rebounds — 11 on the offensive end. James Wiseman started his first game as a Piston and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Jaden Ivey also had a double-double with 10 points, 10 assists and three turnovers. Siakam led all scorers with 29 points.
Jalen Duren missed the game while dealing with soreness in both ankles. Isaiah Stewart (five points, nine rebounds) exited the game with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter with right hip soreness, leaving the Pistons with Wiseman and Bagley as their lone bigs down the stretch.
Newly-signed R.J. Hampton made his debut and played five second-quarter minutes, finishing with a steal.
It was a poor shooting night from both teams, as the Pistons finished 40.4% overall and the Raptors just 37.5% overall. But Toronto benefitted from a big free throw advantage, 22 of 34 attempts. The Pistons shot just 14 free throws, making nine.
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Bagley has big day in return
The Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings had a historic night on Friday, as both teams combined for the second-highest scoring tally in NBA history in a 176-175 overtime finish. Saturday’s matinee between the Pistons and Raptors was far from that, as both teams shot below 40% overall and combined for 61 missed shots in the first half.
It was a good day for strong rebounders, and Bagley capitalized on the bevy of bricks for a big statline in his first game since the beginning of January. He had a halftime double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and eight of those boards came on the offensive end.
He checked in for Wiseman just after the midway point of the first quarter, and got going toward the end of the period. His first bucket of the night came on a jump hook, and he finished a layup in transition and through the teeth of Toronto’s defense off of a perfectly-placed pass through traffic from Ivey. He ended the quarter with a split trip at the free throw line, giving him seven points in the final 1:25 of the opening period.
Seven of Bagley’s 11 offensive rebounds came in the second quarter — two on a pair of tipped-in missed layups from Hamidou Diallo. Bagley gave Detroit’s offense a needed dimension as a rebounder who’s adept at scoring after coming down with the ball on offense. It remains to be seen how Casey will juggle the rotation when Wiseman, Duren, Stewart and Bagley are all healthy at the same time. Wiseman made a strong case to secure his spot in the rotation.
Ivey’s playmaking stands out
Ivey’s continual improvement as a playmaker is establishing him as a genuine lead point guard, rather than a secondary option. February has been his best month in that area, as he entered Saturday with 42 assists against 20 turnovers — his first month with an assist-to-turnover ratio above 2-1.
Saturday was Ivey’s finest playmaking performances. He assisted Detroit’s first three buckets of the night, finding Wiseman for a layup over Poeltl, driving and dumping off to Wiseman for a dunk and then driving and kicking to Stewart for a 3-pointer to give the Pistons an early 7-3 lead. Toward the end of the period, he threaded the needle a pass through several players to get Bagley a layup for his fifth assist of the quarter.
Unlike his 25-point performance against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Ivey struggled to make shots against Toronto and make just three of his 16 attempts. But it didn’t limit his ability to find his teammates.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons rally, controversial call helps Raptors to 95-91 win
