Down five rotation players, the Hornets grinded out a 102-99 win on the road against the Pistons on Tuesday.
Charlotte controlled most of the game with the Pistons taking the lead on just three occasions. Still, the Hornets lead stayed in single digits throughout the first half.
The biggest lead of the night came late in the third and early in the fourth with Charlotte leading by 10 on both occasions. While the Pistons made the final minutes of the night a difficult one, Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball made plays down the stretch offensively to largely keep the Pistons at arm’s length.
Even then, the Pistons had a chance to tie or take the lead with 17 seconds left. Killian Hayes drew a foul on Bismack Biyombo with 9.4 seconds left with Detroit down 100-98, but he missed the front end of the pair.
Ball knocked down two free throws with five seconds left to extend the lead to three points and Hayes’ game-tying shot missed as time expired.
Ball led Charlotte with 23 points, Rozier added 18 and Caleb Martin had 17.
