The Detroit Pistons (24-21) defeated the Utah Jazz (19-25) 95-92 on Monday night.
In a battle between two stingy defenses, the identities of the teams really stood out. Both teams wanted to muck this game down and play halfcourt, which is just what they did. The Pistons took a 12-point lead into the half and never relinquished it after that. Detroit held Utah to 40 percent shooting, while shooting 45 percent on their end of the floor. Th three-point shooting was key as well, as the Pistons went 11-for-22, while the Jazz went just 9-for-29.
Detroit played far from efficient here, but they managed to pull out a huge win on the road. Reggie Jackson was the hero tonight, as he tallied 29 points and four assists in the win. That looks even bigger considering Andre Drummond and Marcus Morris combined for just nine points and 10 rebounds in the victory. The form of Drummond has to be worrisome, as that is now two dud performances in a row for the potential All-Star. He went just 1-for-10 from the free-throw line here and it's starting to effect the rest of his game right now. The only other player who played well for the Pistons here aside from Jackson was Ersan Ilyasova, who amassed 16 points and eight rebounds. The Pistons have a good chance at another win in their next game, when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
The Jazz have been a bit of a disappointment this season, but this loss does have big implications for the future. Derrick Favors made his return here after a 13-game absence and he's a beautiful sight for Utah fans. He came off the bench here and scored 14 points in 20 minutes, but he should be at full force in weeks to come. It was just four players tonight that showed up for Utah, as Favors, Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood combined for nearly all of the offense. In fact, they scored all but 16 points in this game between the four of them and that's hard to overcome in an NBA game. Gobert was especially good tonight, as he tallied 17 points and 17 rebounds in one of his best games of the season. Hayward had a nice all-around game as well, as he accumulated 22 points, five rebounds and five assists in the defeat. He did however miss a game-tying three at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. Utah will look to play better in their next game on Wednesday against the struggling Charlotte Hornets.
