CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ It's well past time to wonder if the Detroit Pistons' run into serious playoff contention will ever come after another last second-loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Eleven nights after Malik Monk's buzzer-beater vs. them, the Pistons failed to get off a shot before the final buzzer in 102-101 loss, the Pistons' ninth straight road loss.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey called timeout to set up the Pistons' final possession with 12.3 seconds left.
After the Hornets gave a foul with 7.9 seconds left, Derrick Rose waited too long to start the action and passed to Luke Kennard, who was open along the baseline.
But Kennard didn't get the shot off in time.
Blake Griffin scored 26 points for the Pistons (6-12) and Andre Drummond added 14 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists, although he was played to a standstill by Bismack Biyombo, who scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Devonte' Graham scored 16 points and added 15 assists for the Hornets (7-12).
Drummond committed a bad turnover late in the game and the Hornets converted it into a Terry Rozier 3-pointer with 2:09 to push the Pistons deficit to 102-96.
But Griffin's 3-pointer with 42.3 seconds left cut the deficit to 102-101.
The Pistons forced a miss to set up the final moments.
The Pistons surged after a slow start to take a 60-55 lead into halftime, but allowed a 10-0 run from Hornets to start the third.
The Pistons managed only 20 points in the third quarter as the Hornets took an 86-80 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Pistons had a defensive rating of 102 points per 100 possessions over the previous four games, which was fifth in the NBA over that span.
The porous defense of the first 13 games returned in the opening minutes.
The Hornets made their first five shots on the way to a 9-for-10 blazing start in taking an early 25-14 lead.
Bruce Brown set the tone by fouling Terry Rozier on the first possession while the Hornets guard was attempting a 3-pointer.
He made all three free throws.
