Pistons at Heat
The Detroit Pistons are hopeful that a strong finish in their last game can spark a much-needed turnaround, beginning with a visit to the Miami Heat on Sunday. The Pistons have spiraled toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference with seven losses in their last eight games, but they made things interesting in Friday's 105-98 loss at Atlanta with a 36-point fourth quarter.
"We did have a lot more fight in us tonight," coach Stan Van Gundy told the media. "Now, we should have never gotten down 17, so I can't excuse the way we started the third quarter. But we didn't let it go. We fought right to the end." Another bright spot was the play of forward Jon Leuer, who had a career-high 22 points and is now averaging 13, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in four starts. The Heat enter as the lowest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference (98.4) - just a shade behind the Pistons - but put forth one of their best offensive efforts in Friday's 117-114 loss at Boston, falling victim to a 52-point effort for Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas. Leading scorer Goran Dragic missed his second game of the week due to back spasms for Miami, which begins a season-high six-game road trip in Phoenix on Tuesday.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (15-20): Forward Marcus Morris missed the loss to the Hawks due to a sore left knee and three reserves combined for only 15 points, leaving a lot on the plate of five healthy starters. However, only Leuer made at least half his shots and the other four starters went a collective 6-of-21 from 3-point range - part of a 9-of-31 effort for a team which ranks second-to-last in the NBA with 7.6 makes from beyond the arc per game. Big man Andre Drummond, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds in a 23-point win over the Heat at home on Nov. 23, had 15 and 15 against Atlanta and entered Saturday tied for fifth in the league with 22 double-doubles.
ABOUT THE HEAT (10-24): Justise Winslow bounced back somewhat from an 0-for-9 shooting night two games ago at Charlotte by making 5-of-13 versus the Celtics, but he is still at just 35.4 percent for the season and reserve forward James Johnson continues to make a case for more minutes when the team needs scoring. Johnson finished with 22 points on Friday and is averaging 13.3 over his last 10 games. The veteran out of Wake Forest shot 50 percent or better in six of those contests and drilled a season-high four 3-pointers his last time out.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami has lost four straight games overall and is 5-12 at home, the worst mark in the league aside from Philadelphia (5-14).
2. Heat C Hassan Whiteside had six points and a season low-tying eight rebounds in the loss to the Pistons earlier this season.
3. Pistons F Tobias Harris is averaging 23.3 points in three games off the bench, compared to 15.5 in 32 starts.