DETROIT — With a short bench and four of their top five scorers out, the Pistons got a nice pick-me-up from a pair of unlikely sources.
Hamidou Diallo had a breakout game, setting a new career high, and Sekou Doumbouya notched a season-high and kept the Pistons within breathing distance.
It wasn’t enough.
The Pistons were within one with just under five minutes remaining, but they made some miscues and couldn’t get stops and fell to the Charlotte Hornets, 102-99, on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit Pistons' Sekou Doumbouya scores over Charlotte Hornets' Jalen McDaniels in the first quarter of their game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, May 4, 2021.
On the second night of a back-to-back, they needed all the help they could get, with seven players sitting because of rest or injury. That left 10 players available, and the Pistons (19-47) made the best of the shorthanded situation.
Diallo finished with 35 points, on 14-of-22 shooting and 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. He scored 14 in the fourth quarter, including a rainbow 3-pointer that pulled thee Pistons within two with 31.7 seconds left.
Doumbouya finished with 20 points and eight boards in 34 minutes.
On the next possession, the Hornets (32-33) turned the ball over when Caleb Martin stepped out of bounds. The Pistons had a chance to tie it after Killian Hayes was fouled, but he missed the first and hit the second free throw, and the Pistons trailed, 100-99, with 8.3 seconds left.
Ball made two free throws with 5.8 seconds left for a three-point margin and the Pistons had a last shot to tie, but Hayes’ 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
The Hornets created some distance at the start of the fourth with back-to-back baskets by LaMelo Ball (23 points, seven rebounds and six assists), for an 82-72 lead at the 11:12 mark. Diallo ended the run with a drive to the basket.
Jahlil Okafor had his best game of the season, with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and provided some muscle in the paint to counter the Hornets’ Bismack Biyombo and Cody Zeller. Okafor had three straight Pistons baskets midway through the quarter, and Diallo added a 3-pointere and a fadeaway to trim the lead to 88-87 with 4:54 remaining.
The Hornets had an answer, with a drive by Brad Wanamaker (15 points, five rebounds and four assists), along with a dunk by Jalen McDaniels (10 points) and a tip-in by Zeller (11 points and eight rebounds) to push the lead back to seven.
