Ageless Parker sparkles as Hornets beat Pistons
DETROIT — Most of the stars of the 2005 NBA Finals have been out of the league for several years.
Tony Parker, is still beating the Detroit Pistons.
Sunday, he faced them for the first time as a member of the Charlotte Hornets, but the results weren’t any different. The 36-year-old scored 24 points in 28 minutes off the bench to lead Charlotte to a 113-103 victory.
“That’s what Tony does. I’m just surprised that he never loses any of his speed and quickness,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “He got to every spot he wanted to out there, and we weren’t stopping him.
“He’s probably going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but we’ve got to be better.”
Parker improved to 2011 in the regular season against the Pistons, first playing them as a 19-yearold with San Antonio on Jan. 2, 2002. The Spurs also beat Detroit in seven games in the 2005 finals.
(Tony) is a leader,” said Kemba Walker, who had 24 points and seven assists. “He brings passion and the winning attitude. He just knows how to win.”
Cody Zeller added 14 points as Charlotte won for the third time in four games.
“I thought they were great tonight,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. “Their effort and their attention to detail were fantastic. I’m really proud of our group on both ends of the floor.”
Andre Drummond had 23 points and 22 rebounds for the Pistons, and Reggie Bullock had a careerhigh 23 points, hitting six 3-pointers. Detroit has lost six of eight after a 4-0 start.
“We are our own worst enemies,” Casey said. “We have to make shots and we have to stop getting caught out of position on defense. I’m going to have to make sure everyone understands our defensive assignments.”
Detroit’s Blake Griffin was given a flagrant-2 foul and ejected with 7:06 to play for a shoulder check on Malik Monk. Griffin shot 4-for-16, missing all five 3-pointers, and is 6-for-26 in his last two games.
“We’re asking Blake to carry too much of a load right now,” Casey said. “He’s bringing the ball up the floor, then going into the post and getting hit on every shot. It’s taking a toll on him.”
The Hornets started the third quarter with a 10-2 run to go ahead 61-51, and only 12 points from Bullock in the quarter kept Detroit within eight going into the fourth. Walker had nine points in the quarter and Charlotte went 6 of 8 on 3-pointers.
“We played hard and we played the right way, but the challenge is not getting frustrated,” said Reggie Jackson. “We have to find a way to stay consistent all game.”