NBA scores 2015: Brandon Jennings’ floater beats Spurs, pushes Pistons’ winning streak to 6

The Pistons have won six games in a row since waiving Josh Smith.

by Jason Patt

Jan 7, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

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The Detroit Pistons had won five straight games in convincing fashion after releasing Josh Smith, but that winning streak looked like it was going to come to an ugly end in San Antonio on Tuesday night. The Pistons trailed by 17 points after the first quarter, and 54-36 late in the second quarter, but they charged back and ultimately pulled out a stunning 105-104 victory on a Brandon Jennings floater with 0.1 seconds left.

Jennings's game-winner was the end to a crazy last few minutes that capped off a crazy game. After the Pistons turned an 18-point deficit into a 10-point lead late in the third quarter, the Spurs rallied back to set the stage for the wild fourth quarter. The teams traded blows back and forth in the final frame, and San Antonio had a chance to create some separation at the free-throw line as the game neared its end.

However, the Spurs went just 4-of-10 from the charity stripe over the last three-plus minutes, with Patty Mills blowing an opportunity to put them up four points with 10 seconds left. Two Jodie Meeks free throw closed the deficit to just one, and on the ensuing possession, the Pistons forced a turnover on the inbound pass by Tim Duncan.

That set the stage for Jennings, who was 4-of-17 from the field prior to his last shot. But Jennings struck back on Star Wars Night in San Antonio, banking in a floater after the big defensive play:

With a sixth consecutive win in the post-Smith era, it’s safe to say Detroit is a completely different team without him. You probably could have said that before Tuesday, considering the last five victories came by an average of 18.2 points. But to go into the home of the defending champs, erase an 18-point deficit, and then win the way the Pistons did is more impressive than any of those other five victories.

Detroit has gone over 100 points in five of the six wins after reaching the 100-point mark just seven times in the first 28 games, and two of those seven times were in overtime losses:

The Pistons have been a much, MUCH better team without Josh Smith. #FSLive pic.twitter.com/ItE8xvfcX0
— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) January 7, 2015

The offense is flowing better without Smith there to muck it up, and Andre Drummond is turning into the monster people expected following a dreadful start to the year.

Drummond had 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting against the Spurs, and he grabbed 17 rebounds in the process. Greg Monroe also had a strong night, putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 7-of-10 from the field. The Pistons racked up 58 points in the paint and 28 second-chance points.

It's hard to imagine this was possible just a few weeks ago, but Detroit is now just 3½ games behind the Miami Heat for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons' average point differential is actually better than the Heat's for the season, and this new-found swagger without Smith makes Detroit a dangerous team. The schedule won't ease up for the Pistons at all over the next few weeks, but don't count them out from making a run.

3 other things we learned

Tony Parker's return to the lineup was a bust: Parker returned to the Spurs' lineup after missing five games with a hamstring injury, but outside of some nice pick-and-roll work early in the game, the return was a dud. Parker played just 13 minutes and didn't play a single minute in the second half, and he finished the game with a stat line of three points, two assists and two turnovers while shooting 0-of-3 from the field. Considering this was only Parker's sixth game since December started, it's fair to expect some struggles as he gets reacclimated to the lineup. San Antonio certainly has the point guard depth to withstand it, with Patty Mills and Cory Joseph more than able backups on most nights.

The explosive Suns' offense would not be denied: Prior to the game Tuesday against the Bucks, the Suns had won eight of 10 on the strength of a dominant offense. During that stretch, Phoenix had the best offensive rating in the league, while Milwaukee had the best defensive rating in the league over its last 10 games. Something had to give, and it was the Suns' offense that came up big following a miserable start. After putting up 15 points and seven turnovers in the first quarter, Phoenix scored 87 points over the final three quarters to earn a hard-fought 102-96 victory. Markieff Morris led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and this was the ninth consecutive game the Suns reached the 100-point mark. The victory gives Phoenix a 2½-game cushion for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to get better: I'm pretty sure everybody loves "The Greek Freak," so it's a delight to see him continue to get better and better. After notching his second double-double of the season in a win over the Knicks on Sunday, Antetokounmpo matched it with his second consecutive 16-point, 12-rebound effort in the loss to Phoenix. The 20-year-old just wrapped up an efficient December in which he averaged over 12 points and six rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the field, and he's off to a strong start in January as well. In addition to his offensive development, his length and athleticism is a key to the Bucks' top-10 defense.

Play of the Night

The Jennings game-winner was awesome, but since we showed that to you already, you get more Giannis. Antetokounmpo has very long arms and very big hands and they don’t call him “The Greek Freak” for nothing.