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 Jackson's right calf cramped up in the third quarter and Detroit
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy considered pulling him.
Instead Jackson stayed in and finished with a flourish, hitting
three clutch shots in the final 2:04 as the Pistons blew a 10-point
lead before recording a 105-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
"That's what he does," Detroit center Andre Drummond said. "The
fourth quarter, he really steps up to the plate and makes things
happen."
Jackson made things happen even while playing with a jammed thumb
and finished with 19 points in 31:25. Two days after spending time
in a Toronto hospital getting administered fluids for dehydration he
helped the Pistons avoid a third straight loss with a 3-pointer and
two floaters.
"I was about to take him out before that stretch at the end because
he looked like he was about dead." Van Gundy said. "I was about to
take him but then he made every play down the stretch."
Before the late flurry, Jackson was 5-of-17 from the field and it
appeared Detroit had lost momentum. The Pistons faced a 98-95
deficit with 2:24 remaining following a dunk and free throw by Nets
center Brook Lopez. But 20 seconds later, the game was tied for the
12th time when Jackson knocked down a 25-foot 3-pointer.
"I'm just a little banged up, but I'm still out there playing and
competing, so there's no excuses," Jackson said. "Everybody's
dealing with something at this point."
After assisting on a dunk by Drummond that gave the Pistons a 100-98
lead with 1:30 remaining, Jackson knocked down a 19-foot shot with
51 seconds remaining to give Detroit a 102-98 lead. He finished the
night by hitting a 5-foot floater with 14.9 seconds remaining for a
104-100 edge.
"That's tough," said Nets center Brook Lopez, who tipped Jackson's
last shot before it went in. "I kind of wanted to ask for half a
point or something. That's just the way it goes but I thought we
played that possession very well."
While Jackson finished strong, Drummond was an interior force most
of the night, helping the Pistons get 52 points in the paint and 28
second-chance points. He collected 21 points and 18 rebounds for his
league-leading 40th double-double while getting five dunks and
shooting 10-for-15 from the floor.
Drummond's and Jackson's performances were about the only things Van
Gundy was pleased about. Van Gundy was infuriated with his defense
after it allowed the third-worst team in the league to shoot nearly
49 percent for the game and 59 percent in the final 12 minutes.
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"Look, we're not playing defense," he said. "We're just not. We
played eight minutes, nine minutes of pretty good defense today.
We're just not defending. So it's frustrating. I'm not happy with.
I'm angry about it."
After nearly completing the comeback from a 10-point deficit, the
Nets faltered down the stretch and lost their fourth straight and
suffered their 16th loss in their last 18 home games since Dec. 10.
Lopez led Brooklyn with 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting while reserve
forward Andrea Bargnani added 18 points and guard Shane Larkin had a
career-high 14 assists.
"They just made some good plays," Lopez said. "Reggie made some big
buckets."
The Nets held a 63-58 lead with 8:22 left in the third quarter on a
basket by Lopez. They missed their next nine shots and Detroit
scored 17 of the next 19 points for a 75-65 lead on Drummond's
fourth dunk of the night with 3:37 remaining.
Brooklyn chipped away, getting within 78-75 through three quarters.
NOTES: Forest City Ratner, the parent company of former owner Bruce
Ratner, announced Mikhail Prokhorov bought the remaining shares of
the Nets for $287 million. Prokhorov bought the remaining 20 percent
interest in the team for $125 million and spent $162.6 million for
the remaining 55 percent interest in Barclays Center. ... Detroit G
Jodie Meeks met with foot surgeon Dr. Martin O'Malley and learned
his fractured right foot has not yet healed. Meeks, who has missed
47 of 49 games, was told to reduce his activity and not practice.
... Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy drew laughs while discussing the
dual role of team president and coach when he said: "The GM side
gets (ticked) off with the coach, more often and probably more than
any GM in the league." ... Asked about the strategy of intentionally
fouling weak free-throw shooters, Brooklyn interim coach Tony Brown
said: "I get it, but I'm not a huge fan of it."
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