DETROIT _ No need to blame Derrick Rose for the Detroit Pistons' latest loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
It was truly a team effort when the Pistons coughed up an eight-point lead in the final 5:25 on the way to a 110-107 setback Friday night, the Pistons' ninth straight loss to the Hornets.
It's the Pistons' third loss to the Hornets (8-12) in two weeks with Rose committing key mistakes in the closing seconds of each loss.
Rose scored 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting to give the Pistons a 106-102 lead with 2:35 remaining in front of a decent holiday crowd at Little Caesars Arena.
But the Pistons couldn't get a stop and Andre Drummond committed two turnovers down the stretch and Blake Griffin committed one.
Devonte' Graham's 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining gave the Hornets a 108-106 lead.
Griffin was fouled, but split a pair to cut the deficit 108-107.
P.J. Washington (26 points) made both free throws to give the Hornets a 110-107 lead.
Drummond committed a turnover trying to pass to an open Tony Snell in the corner, but the Pistons forced a Hornets miss with 8.9 seconds left.
Luke Kennard and Langston Galloway missed 3-pointers that would have forced overtime,
Terry Rozier added 23 points for the Hornets (8-12).
Kennard added 21 points for the Pistons (6-13), while Andre Drummond finished with 15 points and 19 rebounds.
The Pistons dropped two games earlier this season at Charlotte when failing to get a shot attempt the final seconds of both games.
On Wednesday night, Pistons coach Dwane Casey called timeout to set up the final possession with 12.3 seconds left.
After the Hornets gave a foul with 7.9 seconds left, Rose waited too long to start the action and passed to Kennard, who was open along the baseline.
But Kennard didn't get the shot off in time.
It was a different ending, but a familiar feeling as the first game in Charlotte, when Rose threw the ball out of bounds on the Pistons' final possession, giving the Hornets the ball with a chance to win with one second left, which they did thanks to Malik Monk's winner.
The teams combined for 15 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Hornets took a 38-37 lead.
The 38-point first was a season high for the Hornets, who were paced by Rozier.
Kennard was almost as hot, making 4 of 5 triples in scoring 12 points in the first quarter.
