Hornets 100, Pistons 95
NEW ORLEANS -- Greivis Vasquez scored 13 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, including a driving layup over Jose Calderon with 12.1 seconds left, to lift the New Orleans Hornets to a 100-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons Friday night at the New Orleans Arena.
Vasquez, who also added nine assists, took the ball from the top of the key and drove right -- his strong suit -- to score over Calderon and give the Hornets a 98-95 lead.
After Rodney Stuckey forced a 3-pointer from the top of the key and missed, Al-Farouq Aminu grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2.2 second remaining. He made both free throws for the final margin.
Eric Gordon added 21 points -- 18 in the first half -- and Ryan Anderson added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets (21-39). The Pistons (23-38) were paced by Greg Monroe with 27 points and Brandon Knight with 22.
Trailing 91-84, the Pistons scored nine consecutive points -- five by Knight -- to take a 93-91 lead with 1:59 left. Knight opened the surge with a dunk on an alley-oop feed from Calderon, and his 3-pointer from the left wing tied the game, 91-91.
Monroe gave the Pistons a 93-91 lead with a two-hand dunk.
But Vasquez drew a shooting foul on a drive into the lane and made both free throws with 1:43 left to tie the game for the 11th time, this time at 93-93.
After the Pistons missed two shots, Ben Gordon was fouled on a drive to the basket and made one foul shot for a 94-93 New Orleans lead.
On Gordon's second free throw -- a miss -- the ball deflected out of bounds off Monroe's left hand.
New Orleans closed the third quarter by scoring the final eight points, including a 3-pointer from the right wing by Ryan Anderson, to take a 74-69 lead.
The Pistons opened the fourth quarter with an 11-4 spurt, getting a pair of inside baskets from Jason Maxiell, to pull back on top, 80-78, with 8:56 left.
But Vasquez hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and added a floater in the lane as part of a 7-0 New Orleans run to put the Hornets back on top, 85-80.
The Hornets missed their first seven shots, allowing Detroit to sprint to a 14-4 lead early in the first quarter. The Pistons continued their excellent ball movement, recording 11 assists on their first 12 baskets and taking a 27-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Detroit converted two turnovers into fastbreak layups by Stuckey to take a 33-28 lead, but the Hornets scored 10 consecutive points, five by Vasquez, to take their first lead of the game, 35-33.
Because of injuries to forwards Jason Smith and Anthony Davis, the Hornets were forced into a three-guard lineup for much of the second quarter, and the Pistons took advantage of Monroe's size to score on the inside over 6-foot-8 Lance Thomas.
Monroe had 16 points and seven rebounds in the first half, and Detroit led 49-47 at halftime courtesy of 7-0 run over the final 1:26.
Gordon kept the Hornets in the game with 18 first-half points, most coming on strong drives into the lane. Gordon scored 10 consecutive points in a 2:26 span of the second quarter.
NOTES: The Hornets' Smith, who played with a torn labrum in his right shoulder since mid-December, will have surgery next week and miss the rest of the season. "I kind of knew this was going to happen," said Hornets coach Monty Williams. "With the way he plays, there's no way he could have finished the season. He fought through a lot, and at some point, you have to be the brains for these guys and not put them in jeopardy of hurting themselves for the long term." Despite his injury, Smith played in 51 of 59 games and averaged 8.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game off the bench. ... Top pick Davis missed his second consecutive game with a sprained left shoulder, essentially a bone bruise. "He doesn't feel the way he needs to feel to go out there and play effectively," Williams said. "You've got to listen to the doctors, and we're hopeful he will be able to come back soon." ... Williams said the lack of front-court depth might force the Hornets to play more zone defense and acquire a "big body" to give center Robin Lopez a rest and use up some fouls. ... Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said he was happy with the 32-point performance posted by Knight in a 96-95 road win against Washington on Wednesday. "He's shown a standard," Frank said. "I just look at the balance of his offensive game. He got out in transition, did a good job off screens and then he started to attack the rim. That diversity helps."
