Jazz-Pistons Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Jan 12 2013 1:43AM

Winners of seven of nine, the Detroit Pistons might feel like their season-opening eight-game losing streak was ages ago.

To continue the success, they'll try Saturday night to knock off a Utah Jazz team that has won 14 of 16 in the series.

The Pistons (14-23) return home, where they've won five of six, after beating Milwaukee 103-87 on Friday. They held the Bucks to 39.6 percent shooting and 38 points after halftime.

Defense has helped key this turnaround for Detroit, which has allowed an average of 88.0 points in its last seven victories, a stark contrast to the 101.5 it surrendered in its first eight games.

Greg Monroe posted his 13th double-double of the season and fourth in five games with 26 points and 11 rebounds Friday, and Detroit's starters accounted for 72 points.

"I really thought our starters stepped up, set the tone, and really were the reason why the game turned," coach Lawrence Frank said. "Over a course of an 82-game season, every single guy on your team is going to need to help contribute to win, and that's what teams are about. Hopefully we can just build off this rhythm and chemistry while just keep fighting and working to get better."

First-year center Andre Drummond also continued his recent surge with eight points and 11 rebounds. He is averaging 8.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over his last nine games, and leads all rookies in rebounding (7.3) and blocks (1.6) on the season.

Utah (19-19) has made strides on the road recently, splitting its last six after starting 5-12 away from home. But the Jazz still have plenty of room for improvement, as they average 96.5 points on the road, compared to 101.5 in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz came close to notching consecutive road wins for the first time this season Friday. They led Atlanta by 15 in the third quarter, but were outscored 35-19 in the fourth on the way to a 103-95 defeat. Utah allowed the Hawks to shoot 60.0 percent in the final period - the fourth time it's allowed an opponent to reach that mark in the fourth. All four occurrences were in road games, and not surprisingly, all were defeats.

"This is a game we needed to take care of," said Al Jefferson, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds for his 17th double-double. "We had them down, we should have just buried them then. I think we got away from what we had been doing. We turned the ball over too much. We got away from our defense."

Paul Millsap also had his ninth double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, as Utah fell to 2-3 in contests in which both he and Jefferson record a double-doubles in the same game.

Utah was without Marvin Williams (8.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg) on Friday as he missed his second straight game due to inflammation in his right knee. He will sit out again in Detroit.

In the Jazz's lone game against the Pistons last season, Jefferson had 33 points on 14-of-18 shooting and 12 rebounds in a 105-90 home victory.

Jefferson helps Jazz rally past Pistons 90-87

By LARRY LAGE
Posted Jan 12 2013 11:52PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) This time, the Utah Jazz put together a big rally and held on for the win.

Al Jefferson scored 10 of his 20 points in the third quarter, and the Jazz beat the Detroit Pistons 90-87 on Saturday.

A night after blowing a 15-point lead in a loss at Atlanta, Utah came back from a 15-point deficit to win.

"This is a huge victory for us after what happened," coach Tyrone Corbin said.

Detroit's Brandon Knight, guarded closely by DeMarre Carroll, missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would have tied the game after the Pistons trailed by 13 with 3:26 left.

Pistons coach Lawrence Frank was that a foul wasn't called on Knight's last attempt, but didn't want to continue the conversation during his news conference.

"I'm not going to say anything about it," Frank said.

And Corbin wasn't going to debate whether his team got a break from the officials.

"They didn't call it," Corbin said.

The Jazz made their own breaks when Jefferson helped them outscore Detroit 25-11 in the third quarter, powering them to their first lead.

"In the third quarter, they hit us and we didn't fight back," Pistons forward Jason Maxiell said.

Frank agreed, saying the Jazz took advantage of being more physical.

"If you're not the instigator against them, you're going to have a hard time," he said. "You have to hit first."

Utah put together a 17-3 run after Austin Daye's 3-pointer with 8:38 left gave the Pistons the lead for the last time.

There was one comeback left, and it came up just short.

Detroit outscored the Jazz 12-1 and had a shot to send the game into overtime, but Knight was very short on a contested shot after Daye couldn't create his own opportunity.

"We made some mistakes at the end, but we just kept telling each other to finish this one," Utah's Randy Foye said.

The Jazz (20-19) avoided falling under .500 and into a last-place tie with Minnesota in the Northwest Division.

"This was great, but there's still a bitter taste because we know we should be going home with a 3-0 road trip," Jefferson said. "That one (Friday) night is going to bother us for a while."

Detroit (14-24) had won seven of their last nine games.

Knight had 16 points and Greg Monroe scored 12 for the Pistons, who got a late lift from reserve Will Bynum, who scored 13 points.

"By the time we responded, we had to be perfect," Frank said.

Utah's Paul Millsap and Foye each scored 17 and reserve Alec Burks had 12 points.

The Pistons got off to a fast start, leading 11-2 early in the game and 26-13 after the first quarter. Knight and Monroe combined for 18 points in the opening period, but the Jazz prevented them from having much success on offense the rest of the game.

Detroit had a 15-point lead in the second quarter and was ahead 50-39 at halftime.

Foye capped a 15-2 run with a tying 3-pointer with 4:01 left in the third quarter. Jefferson's jumper a couple minutes later gave the Jazz their first lead of the game, and they went into the fourth quarter ahead 64-61.

"This team has shown a lot of resilience this season," Corbin said.

NOTES: Frank said he was called for a technical foul early in the fourth quarter for being on the court while his team was at the opposite end. He seemed stunned by the call by official Scott Wall, shouting: "Scott! That's a gift! A gift!" Gordon Hayward made the ensuing free throw with 10:05 left in the game, giving the Jazz a 69-68 lead. ... Utah's Marvin Williams missed his third straight game with a right knee injury and is expected to be evaluated on Sunday. ... Detroit's next game is Thursday in London against the New York Knicks. ... Jazz guard Jamaal Tinsley started and played six minutes, then didn't play the rest of the game because Corbin said he was sick.

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Follow Larry Lage on Twitter: http://twitter.com/larrylage

Notebook: Jazz 90, Pistons 87

Dana Gauruder, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Jan 12, 2013 10:58 PM - Updated Sat Jan 12, 2013 10:58 PM

THE FACTS: Al Jefferson had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Utah Jazz rallied from an early 15-point deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons 90-87 at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday. Randy Foye and Paul Millsap added 17 points apiece for Utah (20-19), which led by 13 with less than four minutes left and then held off the Pistons' late rally. Brandon Knight led the Pistons (14-24) with 16 points and Will Bynum had 13, all in the fourth quarter. Greg Monroe chipped in 12 points but only had two in the second half.

QUOTABLE: "Once we go inside-out, they can carry us a little bit. We wanted to make sure we moved it from one side to the other, so they couldn't just key in on one side."

-- Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward on Jefferson and Millsap, who scored 23 second-half points

THE STAT: 10. The Jazz has won an NBA-high 10 games after trailing by double figures. The closest to Utah is Memphis and Phoenix, who have six victories apiece after getting down by double digits. Utah didn't take its first lead until late in the third quarter on a Jefferson jumper. The Jazz bounced back from an eight-point loss at Atlanta on Friday in which they squandered a 15-point lead.

TURNING POINT: The Pistons were up 54-41 early in the third, but Utah tied the game with a 15-2 run. Jefferson scored eight of his points during that stretch and Foye finished it with a 3-pointer. Detroit did not lead by more than three the remainder of the game.

QUOTABLE II: "We don't give in. We don't crack. Some nights we might not have it offensively, but we always give effort and try to play as hard as we can on the defensive end."

-- Randy Foye

HOT: Jefferson had his third straight game of at least 20 points, averaging 23 during that stretch. He has also averaged 9.3 rebounds and sparked Utah's defense Saturday with four steals.

NOT: Monroe, who scored 26 points at Milwaukee on Friday, was neutralized by the Jazz's frontcourt after halftime. He attempted just two shots while committing five turnovers. Overall, he made seven of Detroit's 17 turnovers.

ROOKIE WATCH: Detroit center Andre Drummond had nine points and five rebounds. He led all qualifying rookies in rebounding (7.3) and blocks (1.7) entering the game. He has also moved into the league's top 10 with 55 dunks. Pistons guard Kyle Singler only scored four points in 20 minutes.

NOTABLE: Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey had nine points, leaving him two shy of 5,000 for his career. ... The Jazz has won 13 of the last 14 meetings. The teams will meet again March 11 in Utah, where the Pistons haven't won since Nov. 6, 2002. ... Utah plays 10 of its next 12 at home, beginning with Miami on Monday. ... Jazz forward Marvin Williams missed his third straight game with right knee inflammation. He could return sometime next week, according to coach Ty Corbin. ... Both teams shot over 50 percent and had the same amount of individual rebounds (32), assists (21) and fouls (22).

UP NEXT: For the Jazz, Monday vs. Miami, Saturday vs. Cleveland, Wednesday -- Jan. 23 vs. Washington. For the Pistons, Thursday vs. New York (London), Sunday -- Jan. 20 vs. Boston, Tuesday -- Jan. 22 vs. Orlando.

• Jazz: Bell, Williams
• Pistons: Maggette, Middleton

• Jazz: --
• Pistons: Frank

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #31 Scott Wall, #55 Bill Kennedy, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 18441
• Duration: 2:11