| Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Pistons were down 28 points in the second quarter and 27 points in the third, but reduced the deficit to four at the end of the quarter.
They didn’t come any closer, though, losing to Utah Jazz, 117-105, Tuesday night in Salt Lake City at Vivint Smart Arena.
A pair of 3 points from Bojan Bogdanovic in the final 2 minutes sealed Utah’s victory. Jerami Grant finished with 27 points, four assists, four rebounds and three blocks for the Pistons (5-16). Josh Jackson scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds from the bench, and Mason Plumlee doubled up with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
STOCK WATCH: Who’s hot, who’s below the 20 game mark
Donovan Mitchell led Utah (16-5) with 32 points.
Start slow, finish hard
Similar to their performance against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, the Pistons had a slow start against Jazz. They lost, 31-22, after the first quarter and hit just 33.3% (7 out of 21 overall). Utah entered the range with a 69-46 lead.
MORE IMPROVED?: Jerami Grant flourished. See why your best is yet to come
The second half was a different story. The Pistons overcame Jazz, 31-25, in the fourth, and used an extended run in the fourth period to reduce the deficit to four, 109-105, with about 2 minutes remaining in the quarter. From the 5:14 mark in the third quarter to the 2:06 mark in the fourth, Detroit surpassed Utah by 45-22.
Grant helped lead the race, scoring 20 of his 27 points in the second half.
Rose sits down, McGruder fills in
Derrick Rose has been a milestone in the rotation of the Pistons this season. He lost games due to knee pain and rest, but on the other hand he appeared in every game in which he was healthy.
That changed on Wednesday. Rose was not on the injury report before the game and made the trip to Salt Lake City, but did not play. It was unclear why Rose chose her first DNP of the season, but Rodney McGruder – who has only appeared in four games this season – played instead.
[ Wayne Ellington defends Rodney McGruder, calls out Draymond Green’s ‘fake tough guy’ act ]
McGruder recorded 16 minutes and hit two of his five shooting attempts, including a 3-point goal early in the fourth period that extended a 14-4 run to Detroit and reduced the deficit to 96-82.
Jackson performs better in weeks
Since returning from an ankle injury on January 8, Jackson’s performance has been inconsistent. He had one of his best performances of the season against the Warriors last week, scoring 17 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.
He led that against Jazz with his second 20-point exit of the season, and his first since December 28th. Jackson was aggressive outside the gate and scored 10 points at halftime, the second highest on the team. He provided consistent offensive support on a night when it seemed that the Pistons couldn’t do much – at least until the middle of the third quarter.
Please contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.