SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With about three minutes left, the Pistons looked to be out of it.
Not so much.
They staged a furious comeback in the final stretch and snatched a 133-131 victory over the Sacramento Kings in the final seconds on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.
The Pistons set a season high for points, boosted by 30 points and seven rebounds from Saddiq Bey and 19 points and nine assists from Cory Joseph.
Joseph hit the go-ahead jumper with 25.9 seconds left, and the Pistons (11-33) held on with a couple of defensive stops to preserve the victory, splitting the first two games on their four-game western road trip.
After a 39-point third quarter, the Pistons erased a 12-point lead and grabbed the lead early in the fourth. The Kings (18-29) answered with some impeccable shooting in the fourth quarter, rolling to a 130-120 lead with 3:04 remaining following a 10-1 run that was punctuated by a 3-pointer by Terence Davis, who had 35 points, including seven 3-pointers in the game.
The Pistons answered with a drive from Kelly Olynyk, who returned from a knee injury and played in his first game since Nov. 10. Bey added a 3-pointer and Olynyk (22 points, nine rebounds and five assists) another 3-pointer and the Pistons were within 131-128 at the 1:37 mark.
Bey added a three-point play to tie it with 1:01 left, and the Kings missed on their chance, with De’Aaron Fox (27 points, six rebounds and eight assists) coming up short on a jumper.
______