PHILADELPHIA – The Pistons shot 18 of 21 at the foul line, not 3 of 17 as they had their last time out. They made 10 of 23 triples, not 3 of 23. You don’t play NBA games in a vacuum, but sometimes the ball goes in, opponent notwithstanding – and Saturday was one of those times.
The Pistons scored at least 30 points in all four quarters and 136 points for the first time since March 2008 against Denver. It was 33 years ago the last time they scored that many on the road.
Stan Van Gundy didn’t want to make too much of it and, in fact, spent as much time talking about his regard for 76ers coach Brett Brown and how the respect for how hard his teams play eliminated any chance the Pistons would have the sort of letdown that saw them get drilled at home in December by Philadelphia.
“We had good energy throughout,” Van Gundy said. “We had a lot of respect. Even when they’re down two starters, the one thing you know – really, since Brett’s been here, but even more so this year – it’s all we talked about for two days was how hard Philadelphia plays and the energy they bring to the game, that we would need to match that. I think our guys took that to heart.”
The wrinkle Van Gundy introduced, after mulling a change to his starting lineup to bring more energy to the first unit, was going with shorter bursts from Reggie Jackson at point guard. In effect, Jackson will play the first six minutes of each quarter, Smith the second. The closer will be whichever one is having a more efficient and productive game or whatever the situation demands.
“We told him he was going to go in shorter bursts,” Van Gundy said of Jackson. “So don’t pace himself and really push himself defensively and try to get the pace of the game up on offense. That’s all we talked about.”
The Pistons had production up and down the lineup, but especially from point guard. Jackson and Smith combined for 32 points (21 for Jackson) and 15 assists (13 for Smith) against three turnovers, none from Smith. Jackson made 9 of 14 shots and 3 of 4 from three, Smith 5 of 8 shots.
“It felt good. Just something (Van Gundy) came and told me about. Got to respect that he made the decision. I’m just going to go out and leave it all on the line within the six-minute window I had and do the best I could. And then Ish came in and really played phenomenal. It worked well for us tonight, but it’s only one game.”
By the time it got to closing time on Saturday, the Pistons were up 30, taking any meaningful decision on closer status out of Van Gundy’s hands.
Four Pistons scored 20-plus points, led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 26 on just 11 shots. Marcus Morris had 22, Jackson 21 and Tobias Harris 20 plus nine rebounds off the bench. Andre Drummond had 14 points, 14 boards, four steals and three blocked shots.
“Two games in a row he’s brought better energy and that’s absolutely key to us,” Van Gundy said. “Had three blocks – had three goaltends – but he was challenging shots inside, he was running the floor, he was active. When he plays with that kind of energy, obviously makes a big deal. Those are the two guys” – Jackson the other – “really, for us that we need to get going to be better and they both got going tonight.”
There were a few moments of uncertainty, though. The Pistons turned the ball over four times in the first four minutes and trailed 13-4 when Harris entered the game. The Pistons went on a 29-9 run, then closed the first half on a 19-4 run to pull away for good from a 48-all tie. The third-quarter doldrums that have stung the Pistons out of the halftime locker room didn’t come into play this time as they quickly pushed their lead to 28 points before Smith took over for Jackson.
“Our pace picked up a little bit and we just settled down more and were able to get some easy shots,” Harris said. “Take our time. That was the biggest thing. The beginning, we were rushing a lot and we just really settled down.”
Philadelphia was without center Jahlil Okafor and had to go with Richaun Holmes and newly signed veteran journeyman Justin Harper – who helped the Pistons win a game last spring during their playoff drive – in the middle. Van Gundy used Jon Leuer as Drummond’s backup in the first half to counter Philly’s perimeter big men before starting the fourth quarter with Aron Baynes and finishing with Boban Marjanovic. But even with the 76ers undermanned and undersized, Van Gundy kept prodding his players to match the energy he knew Philadelphia would bring.
“Coach, he was on us about letting ’em back in the game and underestimating an opponent,” Morris said. “Every other time, he was on us. That made us lock in more.”
With 20 games left and Miami and Milwaukee breathing down their necks as the Pistons scrap to hang on to a playoff spot, it’s a focus they’ll need to keep for the next six weeks.