The Detroit Pistons and their coterie of lefties, found a way to win over the visiting Suns on Saturday night, thanks to a Josh Smith drive for a leaning lefty bank-shot that went in with 1.3 seconds remaining. An Eric Bledsoe-less Suns team couldn’t answer, and the Pistons got the big victory.
Earlier this season, we criticized Smith’s penchant for relying on his iffy jumper, so it was nice to see him take it to the hoop with time running down tonight. But he was significantly featured in the prelude to his game-winner, too, scoring a game-high 25 points on an efficient 11-of-16 shooting.
Smith’s game-winner came after he knocked down his only three-pointer of the game with 26 seconds left to give the Pistons a 108-105 lead. On the other end, he wasn’t as helpful, fouling Gerald Green on a three-point attempt with just four-seconds remaining. Green knocked down all three big free throws to tie the score at 108.
It was after the dumb foul by Smith when he redeemed himself. On the ensuing inbounds, he took it hard with his off-hand to hit a difficult lefty leaner in the lane over 6-11 Channing Frye.
A Green three-point attempt as time expired didn’t fall, and the Pistons got a big home win thanks to an incarnation of Josh Smith that didn’t settle for a step-back jumper. We hope Josh makes this a regular feature of his game; neglecting the sluggish jump-shot for difficult drive in the lane.
What do you think?
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