DETROIT — The Charlotte Hornets have had their way with the Pistons over the past few years. The first meeting this season was a 140-111 blowout last month.
In the head-to-head series, they’ve won 14 straight games, dating back to October 2017.
Make it 15.
The Hornets took advantage of the Pistons’ miscues and surged in the middle two quarters, buzzing to a 141-119 victory on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
It’s the Pistons’ seventh consecutive loss and 11th in their last 12 games.
Saddiq Bey finished with 25 points, Hamidou Diallo 16 points and seven rebounds and Isaiah Stewart 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jerami Grant added 15 points and Killian Hayes 11 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Pistons (12-44), who next have a two-game road trip facing the Washington Wizards on Monday and the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Bey got off to a good start, with six of the Pistons’ first eight points, and Stewart was active early, with six points in the first six-plus minutes, and the Pistons led, 15-14, at the 7:45 mark.
The Hornets (29-28) got going behind a basket from Terry Rozier (25 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists) and a dunk and 3-pointer from Miles Bridges (25 points). By the end of the quarter, Charlotte surged ahead, with a 36-29 lead, behind a 10-4 run to finish the period.
In the second quarter, Bey had a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to get within 36-34 at the 10:59 mark, but the Hornets reeled off a 12-0 run, with a dunk and 3-pointer from P.J. Washington (13 points).
LaMelo Ball (31 points, 12 assists, five rebounds) was the star of the night, getting started with a 3-pointer, which ignited another Hornets rally. Rozier followed Ball’s 3-pointer with 11 straight Charlotte points, and the run was 17-0, for a 69-45 lead with 3:52 left in the half.
Cade Cunningham (12 points and five rebounds) had a jumper and a put-back, but every time the Pistons made a run, the Hornets had an answer. The lead was up to 79-55 at halftime, and Charlotte kept pushing in the third quarter.
The Pistons got a run with a basket and a 3-pointer by Grant, starting an 8-0 run, but Ball answered with a pair of 3-pointers.
