Detroit Pistons' Brandon Jennings celebrates after he scored the game-winning basketEric Gay/The Associated Press
The San Antonio Spurs kept giving the Detroit Pistons hope. Brandon Jennings made the most of a last-second opening.
The Pistons guard took a bad inbounds pass by Tim Duncan and drove the length of the court in the final seven seconds, weaving through San Antonio's backpedaling defenders, to bank in an 11-foot jumper. The shot Tuesday lifted Detroit to its sixth straight victory, 105-104.
His bucket backed up double-doubles from Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe and the Pistons rallied from 18 points down in the first half.
"We are getting better," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "If you stay in there, sometimes you get a break. We had a very good break at the end. We got lucky at the end. Our resolve to stay in the game right down to the last few seconds was huge."
Drummond had 20 points and 17 rebounds and Monroe added 17 points and 11 boards, as the Pistons snapped a four-game skid in San Antonio (21-15). D.J. Augustin added 19 points for Detroit (11-23), which has not lost since waiving Josh Smith on Dec. 22.
San Antonio point guard Tony Parker played just 13 minutes in his return from a five-game absence due to a strained left hamstring. He was 0-for-3 shooting and had just two assists, but he did not appear to aggravate the injury.
"He wanted to play, but I'm being conservative," coach Gregg Popovich said. "He had 13 minutes. That's good after sitting out as long as he did; make sure he doesn't reinjure the thing."
Parker had missed 13 games total due to the injury, returning twice for a single game only to aggravate his hamstring. The Spurs were 6-7 in Parker's absence.
It was part of an odd night for the defending NBA champions.
The Spurs rallied behind five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but were 4 for 7 on free throws in the final 2 minutes.
San Antonio opted to intentionally foul Detroit's Jodie Meeks after Patty Mills made 1 of 2 free throws with 10.8 seconds left to give the Spurs a 104-101 lead.
Popovich was succinct when asked why he fouled in that situation.
"Because I wanted to," he said.
Meeks made both shots, pulling the Pistons within 104-103 with eight seconds remaining.
Those final eight seconds were the only time Duncan was on the court in the final quarter.
"I made different choices," Popovich said of his decision to sit Duncan.
Duncan's inbounds pass went off Mills' hands and was gathered by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who passed it to Jennings. Unsure if there was a timeout remaining, Jennings charged down court.
"Once I got to the frontcourt, I was open for the 3, but I was like, 'I'm not going to shoot the 3," Jennings said. "Once I saw (Boris) Diaw get on the outside, I've got a good opportunity to go past him and I shot the floater off the glass."
After an official review, 0.1 seconds were placed on the clock, but the Spurs were unable to tip the ball before time expired.
Jeff Ayres had a season-high 16 points and Duncan added 15 for the Spurs (21-15).
After trailing by 18 points early in the second quarter, Detroit opened the third on a 23-11 run to take its first lead of the game. The surge included a 10-0 run capped by a pair of free throws by Monroe for a 72-69 lead with 5:11 remaining.
SUNS 102, BUCKS 96
MILWAUKEE – No chance of a letdown for the Phoenix Suns.
Markieff Morris scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Suns to a 102-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
A bright spot for the Bucks was the return of centre Larry Sanders, even if he was in street clothes and sitting on the bench. He missed his seventh consecutive game due, at first, to the flu, but since then for personal reasons.
"It feels great to be around the guys again," Sanders said. His last game was Dec. 23, and he said that rumours he might even quit basketball weren't true.
"But, what is true," he said, "is that I'm in the process of working things out now to do as best for my psyche and my physical health going forward. There's a lot of evaluating going on."
Phoenix (21-16) was coming off its second-highest scoring total of the season in Sunday's 125-109 win at home over Atlantic Division-leading Toronto.
Facing the Bucks, who beat them 96-94 six weeks ago on Khris Middleton's buzzer-beating three-pointer, the Suns still had plenty of energy and drive.
Isaiah Thomas added 19 and Goran Dragic, 16, for the Suns, who have scored 100 or more points for the ninth straight game.
"It wasn't the prettiest game," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "There were a lot of turnovers and a lot of missed shots, but we got it going a little bit in the second half, scoring 59 points. We played more like we were capable of playing."
The Bucks turned the Suns' 20 turnovers into 22 points while Phoenix cashed in on Milwaukee's 17 miscues for 16. Phoenix shot 40 per cent in the first half, falling behind Milwaukee by 10, but then recovered and went 51 per cent from the floor in the second.
"Our guys made big plays at the end," Hornacek said.
After three leads changes and a tie to start the fourth quarter, the Suns went ahead for good when Markieff Morris kept an offensive rebound alive and tipped it in and Marcus Morris converted a three-point play for an 81-76 lead early in the quarter.
Phoenix capitalized on Milwaukee's poor shooting to cling to a lead that never topped seven points down the stretch. The Bucks made nine of 27 shots in the fourth quarter, and their defence disappeared.
"You can't give them wide open 3s late in the game," said Bucks coach Jason Kidd.
Thomas said stopping the Bucks was important.
"We got key stops and scored on the offensive end," Thomas said. "We stayed aggressive and got in the bonus with about four or five minutes left in the game. That's what got us the win."
Brandon Knight scored 26 and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 16 for the Bucks, who lost their fourth straight at home.
The Suns have won nine of the last 11 and opened the four-game road trip with their third consecutive victory. They also upped their record to 8-1 over Eastern Conference opponents.
Khris Middleton's 3 with 1:49 left pulled the Bucks to 94-92, but the Suns pulled away on a jumper by Goran Dragic, a 3-pointer by Markieff Morris and a free throw from Thomas.
Antetokounmpo and Knight put some energy back in the Bucks' offence when each dunked during a 12-4 surge that puts Milwaukee back in the lead 62-58 with 4:44 left in the third quarter.