Hornets at Pistons
THE STORY: While the current season hasn’t shown much in the way of promise for downtrodden Detroit, the Pistons at least appear to have found their point guard of the future. Rookie Brandon Knight turned in his best performance as a pro, registering a career-best 26 points with seven assists and no turnovers in a win over Milwaukee on Friday. “Me, as a rookie, that's something I've got to be able to do each and every game, no matter who we're playing against,” the No. 8 overall pick said. The win helped the Pistons snap a season-long seven-game losing streak. They’ll now try to win back-to-back games for the first time in a month when they host the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night. New Orleans will be looking to avoid a 14th loss in 15 games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Cox Sports, Fox Sports Detroit
ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-19): The Hornets’ recent struggles can be traced to their ability to close out games. New Orleans is averaging just 21 fourth-quarter points, second-worst in the NBA only to the Pistons. Greivis Vasquez is doing his part to get the Hornets on the scoreboard, scoring 36 points with 17 assists over his past two games. The Hornets have dropped five straight on the road, losing by an average of nearly 10 points.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (5-20): While Knight is slowly emerging as a go-to threat, second-year center Greg Monroe appears to have already reached that point. Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds against the Bucks for his sixth double-double in seven games. He is averaging 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds on the season. The Pistons have been hindered by the absence of shooting guard Ben Gordon, who has missed nine games with a shoulder injury. He isn’t expected to face the Hornets.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Hornets starting point guard Jarrett Jack missed Thursday’s game against San Antonio with a knee injury. He is questionable to play Detroit.
2. The Pistons have broken the 100-point barrier just once this season.