Hornets at Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are stumbling down the stretch and fell into the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference with a third straight loss on Friday. The Pistons will try to avoid falling out of the top eight in the East when they host another desperate team in the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Detroit looked comfortable to return to the postseason until its recent swoon, and not even the 45-point return of All-Star forward Blake Griffin on Friday could keep it from dropping a 123-110 decision at Oklahoma City. "It's in our hands," Pistons coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "It's right in our hands, and nobody else but us. Go back home, take care of home. Charlotte beat Toronto, so they're going to come back in. They're still alive, so they're going to come in with a purpose on Sunday. So, we have to go at home, early game, get our rest Saturday night. Like I told the guys, everything personal. Whatever is going on in our lives, good, bad or indifferent, we've got to flush it down, come back in as a group and be ready to perform on Sunday and then Tuesday and Wednesday." The Hornets are fighting to stay alive and sit two games behind the Pistons with three to play after edging the Raptors 113-111 on Friday. "Each one of these games, especially tonight, they're one-game playoffs," power forward Frank Kaminsky told the team's website. "We've got to take it game by game and treat it like they are a playoff series, because we need to win every single one of them. You know we have a chance. We have an opportunity."
TV: 4 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), FS Detroit
ABOUT THE HORNETS (37-42): Charlotte visits Detroit and Cleveland before finishing the season by hosting the Orlando Magic on Wednesday and needs to keep winning and get plenty of help to make the postseason. Shooting guard Jeremy Lamb played the hero on Friday, burying a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to provide the winning margin. "Man, Kemba (Walker) made a great pass, and everybody said if I get it, shoot it," Lamb told reporters. "I just tried to shoot it with confidence, that was a little bit of an easier shot than last time and I am just happy it went it."
ABOUT THE PISTONS (39-40): Detroit dropped six of its last eight games but remains confident with the remaining three contests against sub-.500 teams Charlotte, Memphis and New York. "I think mentally we are in a good spot," Griffin told reporters after Friday's setback. "I know it's been crazy and there were ups and downs, but I think we really believe in ourselves. I like that. Coming off that West Coast trip (with losses at Portland, Golden State and Denver last month) we were kind of in the same situation and we responded really well, so I expect to see the same thing." Griffin (knee) showed little rust on Friday after three games off and went 11-of-20 from the floor, including 9-of-14 from beyond the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Walker is averaging 36 points on 55.6 percent shooting over the last three games.
2. Pistons C Andre Drummond was held to four points and nine rebounds on Friday, snapping a string of 11 straight double-doubles.
3. Charlotte is enjoying a five-game winning streak in the series, including a 113-103 victory at Detroit on Nov. 11.