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 That turned out to be a wise move, as Jefferson collected 32
points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats won
the first game of a home-and-home series with the Detroit Pistons
108-96 Tuesday night at The Palace.
"My teammate over here, I told him I was just going to ride the bike
for the All-Star break," said Jefferson, who scored 30 or more
points for the sixth time in nine games. "He said, 'No, you need to
get in the gym because that could be the difference between you
having 20 or 30 points.' So, I got in the gym Saturday and Sunday
and finished with 32."
Jefferson's big night gave the Bobcats some breathing room in their
drive for a postseason berth. Point guard Kemba Walker had 22 points
and six assists, and forward Josh McRoberts added 14 points and 10
rebounds for Charlotte (24-30), which moved 1 1/2 games ahead of
Detroit in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the
Eastern Conference. The teams play again Wednesday night in
Charlotte.
"This team is right behind us," Jefferson said. "If they had beaten
Cleveland, who they had down here on their home court before the
break, we would have been on the outside looking in. Guys knew that
and then to have to play a back-to-back and four games in five
nights, we were ready and focused."
In the team's first meeting, Dec. 20 at The Palace, Charlotte erased
a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit while defeating Detroit 116-106.
The Bobcats took an entirely different route to victory Tuesday,
never trailing while leading by double digits a majority of the
game.
Charlotte, which made its first seven field-goal attempts, shot 52
percent from the field and held the Pistons to 39.8 percent
shooting.
"Whatever they all did (during the break), they were ready to go,"
Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "It was obviously a factor
tonight. I just like the way we played. We did a good job of
handling the ball and for the most part, we were well-organized on
offense and executed well."
Point guard Brandon Jennings led the Pistons (22-31) with 24 points
and seven assists. Power forward Greg Monroe contributed 18 points
and 10 rebounds, and center Andre Drummond supplied 16 points and a
career-high-tying 22 rebounds.
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"Our energy level didn't match theirs," said Detroit interim coach
John Loyer, who is now 1-2 since replacing Mo Cheeks. "You come out
and give a team however many they made in a row to start the game,
that puts you in a hole. You can't spot that many points because
it's almost like you have to play perfect and have the ball bounce
your way down the stretch to win the game."
The only bright spot for the Pistons was Drummond's rebounding. With
his 11 offensive rebounds, he has eight consecutive games with
six-plus offensive rebounds, the longest streak since Dennis Rodman
did that eight straight times in 1992.
What Drummond and Monroe couldn't do was handle Jefferson in the low
block.
"He's an All-Star player, a matchup nightmare," Pistons guard Will
Bynum said. "We know it takes a total team effort to stop a guy like
that. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and make sure we're
giving the best effort that we can."
NOTES: C Andre Drummond has the most double-doubles by a Piston
since Grant Hill's 44 in 1995-96, notching his 40th Tuesday. ...
Detroit PG Brandon Jennings has 16 games with at least 10 assists,
compared with 13 last season when he played for the Milwaukee Bucks.
... Charlotte has played a league-high 24 games decided by six
points or fewer and won half of them. ... Bobcats SG Gerald
Henderson is one of eight guards league-wide who started every game
before the All-Star break. ... Charlotte improved to 14-3 when it
reaches 100 points. ... PF Charlie Villanueva was not with the
Pistons for personal reasons but might rejoin them in Charlotte for
Wednesday night's game. ... Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said his
team is surprising many NBA observers. "I don't think anybody would
have said with 29 games left Charlotte will be right there, playing
meaningful games," he said. ... The teams have a combined five
players who attended the University of Connecticut.
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