The Detroit Pistons became the latest victim of the Miami Heat on Friday, but they will try to get back on track Saturday when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Pistons fell to the Heat, 103-89 on Friday in Miami. It was the Heat's 25th consecutive victory, but, without much fanfare, the Pistons own their own streak.
Detroit has dropped 10 games in a row and hasn't won in the month of March. The Pistons have actually lost 13 of 14 games with the only victory over the Washington Wizards on Feb. 27.
Against the Heat, the Pistons went without guard Brandon Knight, who sat with a left ankle sprain. His availability for Saturday night is unknown.
Detroit took a six-point lead after the first quarter and was ahead by three at the half, but lost the third by eight and the fourth by nine to keep a pair of streaks alive.
"When you are playing a high level team like the Miami Heat, the controllable things and game plan mistakes can't have a large margin of error just because of how good they are," said Pistons coach Lawrence Frank after the game. "Our effort was good and we have to clean up some execution things, but I really liked our intent the first half. We just have to sustain it and now we have to get ready to play the Charlotte Bobcats."
Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 23 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Jose Calderon and Kyle Singler both had 18 and Rodney Stuckey, who started in place of Knight, netted 11.
The Bobcats are riding their first winning streak since mid-November. Granted, Charlotte has only won two in a row, but that hadn't happened since Nov. 19-21, 2012.
Both victories came at home and the most recent was a 107-101 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
"It feels good to get this streak," said Charlotte big man Byron Mullens. "Hopefully we can keep this feeling and put together a little run here late in the season."
Mullens was a force off the bench for the Bobcats Wednesday. He scored 25 points to lead an amazing effort by the reserves. Ben Gordon added 16 and Jannero Pargo chipped in 11. The bench tallied 52 points.
Gerald Henderson scored 21, to go along with double-digit performances from Kemba Walker (14) and Josh McRoberts (12).
The Bobcats shot 50 percent from 3-point range against the Raptors.
If the Bobcats' winning streak lasts through Saturday, it might be in trouble come Sunday. They visit the Miami Heat and they know a little something about a winning streak, with 25 consecutive victories.
The two teams have split this season's two matchups with the sides winning on the other's court. Detroit has won six of the last seven overall and four straight in Charlotte.
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