Pistons Weekly Recap: January 17-20, 2014

Detroit looked to extend their winning streak to three games Friday night, when they hosted the Utah Jazz.

The underwhelming Jazz have struggled this season, but a terrific performance by rookie Trey Burke helped them end the Pistons’ streak. Burke led all Jazz players with 20 points and added 12 assists in their 110-89 victory over Detroit.

Pistons general manager Joe Dumars had the opportunity to take Burke in the most recent NBA draft, but instead decided to take shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Detroit’s front line of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith combined for only 18 points on 5-18 shooting. Smith and Monroe only made one field goal each and both played for less than 25 minutes.

Saturday night, the Pistons traveled to Washington, where they looked to end their two-game skid against the Wizards.

Detroit was down by eight after halftime, but a strong third quarter saw them take a three point lead. In the fourth quarter, the Pistons outscored the Wizards by three and held on to win 104-98.

Smith had a great bounce back game, scoring 22 points and collecting eight rebounds.  Rodney Stuckey also chipped in, giving his team 20 points.

Superstar John Wall did not disappoint either, scoring 34 points and dishing out six assists.

Next the Pistons hosted the Los Angeles Clippers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Clippers were without Chris Paul, but that did not seem to bother them.

The Clippers completely outplayed Detroit, but a few last minute points helped make the final score look respectable. The Clippers won the game 112-103 and were led by a strong performance from center DeAndre Jordan. Jordan ended the night with a double-double, scoring 16 points and collecting 21 rebounds.

The Clippers, who are referred to around the league as “Lob City,” lived up to the billing Monday afternoon.

“They don’t usually get as many of them as they did tonight, but that’s what they do,” Pistons head coach Maurice Cheeks said.

With this loss, the Pistons are now 17-24 on the season, which is one game better than this date last year.

The Pistons travel to Milwaukee Wednesday night to face off against the Bucks. The game tips off at 8 p.m. and can be seen on Fox Sports Detroit.


Cameron Billes is the host of Horsepower for Impact Sports.