By Sam Perley, hornets.com
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The Result
A big fourth quarter made all the difference for the Hornets as they notched their season-high-tying fifth-consecutive victory with a 108-101 win over the Pistons on Sunday, Mar. 8 in Detroit. It was another seesaw battle for Charlotte, who trailed by double digits late in the first half but rallied to even the season series with the Pistons and sent Detroit to its sixth-straight loss. Al Jefferson came up big again, leading the Hornets with 24 points, while Reggie Jackson finished with a team-high 25 points for the hometown Pistons.
Turning Points
Charlotte rallied after halftime to take a 78-74 with 3:46 remaining the third quarter before the Pistons responded with a 12-0 run to take a 86-78 lead by the opening seconds of the fourth. The Hornets would ultimately have the last word though as they put together a dominating fourth quarter performance highlighted by 22-4 run in the next nine minutes of play to put the game out of reach for Detroit as they knocked off the Pistons for the fourth time in their last five attempts.
Inside the Box Score
Al Jefferson scored 10 of his team-high 24 points in the third quarter on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field. Jefferson also led the Hornets with eight rebounds… Mo Williams finished with 21 points and a team-high-tying nine assists, which is the seventh time in nine games Williams has scored 20-or-more points… Cody Zeller tallied 11 points and seven rebounds to finish in double figures for a career-high sixth-consecutive game… Gerald Henderson finished with 13 points and tied a career high with nine assists… Michael Kidd-Gilchrist notched 10 points and six rebounds and has now scored in double figures in 14 of his last 16 games… Lance Stephenson scored all nine of his points in the fourth quarter… Reggie Jackson scored only four of his team-high 25 points in the second half… Greg Monroe notched 18 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for his 31st double-double of the season… Andre Drummond (16), Jodie Meeks (13) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (11) also finished in double figures for Detroit… Charlotte was outscored on fast break points, 15-5… The Hornets shot 51.9% from the field (41-of-79) while Detroit connected on 43.8% of their field-goal attempts (39-of-89)… Charlotte won the assists battle, 32-21… The Pistons were outscored in the fourth quarter, 30-17.
Hornets Player of the Game
Al Jefferson had another spectacular performance for Charlotte, leading the Hornets with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jefferson has now scored 20-or-more points in three of his last four games and 20 times overall on the season.
Pistons Player of the Game
Reggie Jackson led Detroit with 25 points, 21 of which came in the first half, as he notched his highest-scoring performance since joining Detroit on Feb. 22. Jackson also tallied seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists and has now scored in double figures in six of his seven games with the Pistons.
Game Notes
All five Charlotte starters scored in double figures for the fifth time in the last six games… Charlotte has won three straight games in Detroit… Only two referees, Ronnie Garretson and Pat Fraher, were available to officiate the game as J.T. Orr fell ill prior to tipoff… The Hornets moved to a perfect 5-0 in the month of March.
Next Up
The Hornets will return home for a matchup against the Washington Wizards at 7 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 9 in Charlotte. The game can be seen on FOX SportsSouth or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.