AUBURN HILLS -- The Pistons held Fan Appreciation Day Sunday to celebrate the last home game of the season.
No one, though, donated more to the crowd's enjoyment than the Charlotte Hornets.
Suffering an understandable letdown after being eliminated from the postseason on Friday, and with several regulars sitting out, the Hornets barely looked like an NBA team. They only made three jumpers in the first three quarters, didn't make much of an effort on defense and were lucky to only lose 116-77.
"There was a lot of frustration and disappointment after being eliminated, and we were undermanned because of the injuries," said Hornets coach Steve Clifford. "But this was a game that we had a chance to win, and instead of our guys putting forward more effort when they had a chance to get some minutes, they put forward less effort."
The Pistons could have won by 50 or 60 points if they had pushed things, but Clifford and Stan Van Gundy are close friends -- Clifford was Van Gundy's assistant in Orlando and considers him a mentor -- and Detroit didn't try to run up the score. Detroit even took an intentional shot-clock violation instead of going for a bigger final margin.
There was only so much Van Gundy could do for his friend, though. Detroit's reserves took advantage of their extra playing time, shooting 60 percent, including 64 percent on 3-pointers.
"It is always fun to see the guys that work hard every day get a chance to be successful," said Greg Monroe. "You always support your teammates, and you always love seeing them make shots."
It was pretty clear early what kind of afternoon it was going to be, as the Pistons led 30-10 at the end of the first quarter and 53-19 with four minutes until halftime. Rookie Noah Vonleh, taken with the pick that Charlotte got from Detroit in last summer's draft, helped Charlotte avoid complete humiliation with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but it was still an epic rout.
"I thought that in the first half, our defensive intensity and focus were great," Van Gundy said. "We shot the ball tremendously -- when you go 16-for-28 on 3s, you have a pretty good chance of winning."
The most emotional moment of the day was for a player who never got off the bench. Tayshaun Prince, who sat out as Van Gundy played rookies, was honored with a lengthy highlight video set to Bob Seger's "Still The Same."
"Seeing that tribute -- I'm very appreciative for that," Prince said. "This is where I grew up. I spent seven years where we accomplished something special every year, and that video pretty much explains the times that I will never forget."
The fans, understanding that the video was meant as an unofficial farewell -- Prince is expected to sign with a contender as a free agent this summer -- cheered every highlight and gave him a standing ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard at video's end.
"When Chauncey was here at the last game, you saw how appreciative these fans are of how special it was to accomplish the things we did," Prince said. "Those opportunities only come along once in a lifetime, and we were fortunate to be able to deliver for these fans."
