TORONTO – Here's when you know things are going well. On a night that began with the Pistons rolling a red carpet to the rim for Toronto, they won with two big defensive plays in the last 10 seconds.
Whatever it takes to win. That's the new mantra for the Pistons – well, right after that whole "wall" thing - who are now 9-1 in their last 10 games and have six straight road wins.
"I feel like we've been a good team all along," Jodie Meeks said after the Pistons overcame a 14-point deficit to knock off another NBA heavyweight, Toronto, in a 114-111 decision. "We just had some bad luck and a couple of injuries. Now that we're fully healthy, we can take that next step. We're still in the hole, but we're trying to get out of it."
Since bottoming out at 5-23 before Christmas, the Pistons are now 14-24 and passing teams in the standings. They've ranked among the best offensive teams in the league over their 10-game streak and have made great strides at the defensive end, though their ranking there will take a hit with the way Toronto dented them. Stan Van Gundy was asked after the game what would keep him from saying the Pistons are now among the league's best teams.
"Well, it is the record," he said. "And it's, honestly, what you saw from our defense tonight. You've just got to not rely on improbable finishes. You've got to be able to stop people to some degree and we've done OK at times. But tonight and in all the games our defense on these pick-and-roll teams has got to get better. That's what would separate us."
But this finding-a-way-to-win recipe – for a franchise that spent the past five seasons on the outside of the playoffs looking in – has become infectious fun. To wit: Toronto shot 54 percent, the Pistons 42.7 percent. But the Pistons protected the ball, committing only eight turnovers to Toronto's 19, and won the points-off-turnovers stat 22-7 while outscoring Toronto 25-10 at the foul line.
You can credit Brandon Jennings for much of both those categories. Jennings – superb again with 34 points, 20 in the second half, and 10 assists – committed just two turnovers despite 34 minutes with the ball in his hands. He went hard at Toronto All-Star candidate Kyle Lowry,who finished with 10 points and 12 assists – nine in Toronto's dazzling 32-point first quarter – but seven turnovers. Jennings also hit 8 of 9 free throws, attempting just one fewer than Toronto's team.
"He's definitely going to be an All-Star this year," Jennings said. "He's been playing like it since the season began. But my thing was just to attack him because he can get it going and once he gets it going, it's hard to stop him. My game plan was just to attack him so much on the pick and roll."
The Pistons, down 12 at halftime, pulled even just past the midway mark of the third quarter as Jennings came out smoking. If there was anything that infused the Pistons with the belief they could pull off another unlikely road comeback, it was Jennings' 14-point third quarter burst.
"Brandon was unbelievable," Van Gundy said. "He just put us on his back and carried us."
"He played great tonight," Meeks said. "He came out on fire in the third quarter and kind of got us going. We had a good third quarter. In the fourth quarter, we just kept it going and got the key stops down the stretch and made free throws."
Jennings was at the heart of that, too. But first it was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. With Caron Butler's hamstring making him unavailable in the second half, Caldwell-Pope's Swiss Army knife defensive versatility was invaluable. Van Gundy used him first to guard James Johnson, a powerful small forward, and for Toronto's critical possession that started with 15 seconds left and the Raptors down by a point, Van Gundy assigned Caldwell-Pope to Lowry.
He forced a tough runner that Lowry missed. Caldwell-Pope grabbed the rebound, then got fouled and made both free throws. Toronto's last-ditch chance, trailing by three with 6.6 seconds to play, was aborted by Jennings picking Lowry's pocket at mid-court for Toronto's 19th turnover.
"Great play and smart, too, because if he gets called for a foul, it's not bad," Van Gundy said, the Pistons ahead by three points and only looking to avoid a tying 3-pointer. "It was smart, it was aggressive and it just capped off a great night for him."
Jennings had help from a variety of sources. Greg Monroe was a rock all night, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds – his seventh straight double-double. Jonas Jerebko drained two clutch jump shots in the final two minutes and helped Meeks turn a scrambling possession into a dagger triple by swinging the ball to him for a 27-footer with the shot clock at three. Meeks hit 4 of his last 5 shots after starting 1 of 9 – and finishing 1 of 9 two nights earlier in the win over Brooklyn.
Team Resilient, winning another in whatever way necessary.
Van Gundy was asked what he said to his team at halftime.
"We got real technical. We said, 'We've got to try,' " he deadpanned. "I played 11 guys in the first quarter and I didn't think any of them put forth a very good effort. But the one thing we've become good at – and I give 'em a lot of credit – we stay with games. That's one thing our guys do. We stay with games and we've gotten better closing 'em out."
"We always come back in the second half," Jennings said. "But if we could put a whole 48-minute game together ..."
Well, watch out, NBA.