Playing for a new contract while also playing against your former team? There can be a lot of motivation there, and that's what happened tonight with Indiana Pacers point guard Rodney Stuckey. Against the team that drafted him eight years ago, him and fellow guard C.J Miles lit up the Pistons. They each scored 24 and combined to hit eight shots from downtown.
Stuckey hit three straight shots down the stretch in the fourth quarter to keep the Pistons out of reach. A Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three-pointer with 17 seconds left closed the Indiana lead to just two, but George Hill iced the game with two free throws.
The Pacers only missed twice from the charity stripe, while the Pistons missed 12 of their 23 attempts. Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, and KCP went a combined 2 of 8 from the line in the final frame. Anthony Tolliver hit a corner three with under two minutes left, but missed his next attempt early during the next possession. He went 2 of 9 from deep tonight, but starters Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond did manage to both get double-doubles. Jackson fouled out late in the game, but did get nine helpers to go with 21 points.
Aside from Miles and Stuckey, the Pacers were anchored by David West and Roy Hibbert, who each scored 10. The former flirted with a triple-double, as he snagged seven boards and got nine assists, while the latter had 11 rebounds for Indiana.
Neither team committed more than 12 turnovers, but the Pacers did manage to shoot 58 percent from deep and 90 percent from the line, compared to just 48 and 53 for the Pistons.
The Pistons will play their final home game of the season on Sunday at 3:30 PM EST against the Hornets. The Pacers, just a game back of Boston for the eighth seed, will host the Thunder Sunday at 6:00 PM EST.