Jackson leads Pistons to 127-122 comeback victory over Suns in OT
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Reggie Jackson scored 24 of his 34 points after halftime, and the Detroit Pistons rallied from 16 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 127-122 in overtime Wednesday night.
Andre Drummond, the worst free throw shooter in NBA history, hit a pair from the line with 14.3 seconds left to tie the game at 112, and Eric Bledsoe missed an off-balance jumper at the buzzer.
The Pistons started overtime with an 8-1 run, but a pair of missed free throws by Drummond helped Phoenix narrow the gap to 122-120 with 1:27 seconds to play.
The Suns had two chances to tie it in the last 35 seconds, but P.J. Tucker was called for an offensive foul and T.J. Warren missed a contested layup. Marcus Morris made one of two free throws with 9.1 seconds left to make it 125-122, and Brandon Knight missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it.
Phoenix played without Tyson Chandler (hamstring) and Markieff Morris (bruised knee) and ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, blowing the big lead.
The Pistons trailed 98-82 with 9:22 to play, but two free throws by Jackson put them ahead 105-104 about 7 minutes later. After a Suns miss, Jackson hit a running hook to make it a three-point game.
Mirza Teletovic answered with a tying 3-pointer, and the teams traded dunks to make it 109-109 with 57.5 seconds to go. Teletovic, though, bit on a pump fake and fouled Ersan Ilyasova with 38.3 seconds on a 3-point attempt.
Ilyasova missed the first two free throws, giving the Pistons 14 misses from the line, before hitting the third. Knight then knocked down a 3 to put the Suns up 112-110.
Ilyasova missed a 3 and Knight grabbed the rebound with 23 seconds left. Knight, though, turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass, giving his former team another shot. That led to the foul on Drummond, the only player to make less than 40 percent of his career free throws. He was 4 for 13 from the line.
Drummond added 22 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit, which had four players score at least 20 points. Knight had 22 points and Bledsoe added 21 points and nine assists.
Late in the first half, the Suns became the third straight team to intentionally foul Drummond. He missed five of six free throws before Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was able to get Aron Baynes into the game.
That helped Phoenix build a 57-54 lead, but Jackson's 35-footer at the buzzer tied the score.
The Suns jumped back into an 80-72 lead in the third, hitting five of their first six 3-point attempts. Van Gundy got desperate enough to play zone defense in the fourth, but Phoenix hit a 3-pointer and an easy drive-and-dunk on the first two possessions.
That gave the Suns their 16-point lead, but Detroit narrowed the gap to 104-103 with 3:53 to play, aided by back-to-back 3s from Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Van Gundy pulled Drummond once the Suns committed their fourth foul of the quarter, but he only missed one defensive possession.
TIP-INS
Suns: Markieff Morris was a late scratch, preventing him from playing against his twin brother, Marcus. . Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said before the game that Chandler will have to go through a shootaround or short practice before being cleared to play.
Pistons: Caldwell-Pope, who played 44 minutes against James Harden and the Rockets on Monday and 20 minutes against Knight in the first half, sat out halftime warmups. He had both knees wrapped, but was back on the floor to start the third quarter.
FREE THROW WOES
Drummond has missed 34 free throws in the last three games, more than the 25 that NBA MVP Stephen Curry missed for Golden State during the entire 2014-15 season.
UP NEXT
Suns: At the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Pistons: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
