Kelly Olynyk hits OT buzzer-beater for Pistons to continue Hornets' misery / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP – Scanpix Credit AP – Scanpix

Kelly Olynyk's 14-foot jumper at the buzzer gave the Detroit Pistons a 127-126 overtime victory against the host Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.

Player of the Game EFF 26 Jayson Tatum Points 26 Accuracy 8-21 Rebounds 11 Assists 6

Saddiq Bey's 28 points and Jerami Grant's 26 points led the Pistons, while Olynyk ended up with 20 points and eight rebounds.

After Grant's basket cut the gap to 126-125 with 1:29 left, neither team scored until Olynyk took the game's last shot. Cade Cunningham added 19 points and Hamidou Diallo had 13 points for Detroit.

Terry Rozier rolled up 33 points and Miles Bridges scored six of his 29 points in overtime for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball provided 17 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 points and Cody Martin posted 13 points. Bridges had 10 rebounds.

The Hornets lost for the 10th time in their last 12 games. One of the victories was a 22-point whipping of Detroit.

In regulation, Bey hit a tiebreaking 3-point basket with 14.1 seconds left. After the go-ahead basket from the left corner, the Pistons sent Bridges to the foul line where he made both attempts. Cunningham then made the first of a two-shot foul, but missed the second. The Hornets called timeout with 9.4 seconds to play, with P.J. Washington scoring the tying bucket at the 4.1-second mark.

Charlotte was ahead 88-82 with 10:22 to play, but the Pistons tied the score at 90-90, and it remained tight the rest of the way.

Cunningham scored four straight points to finally put Detroit back on top, but Rozier responded with a 3-pointer for a 112-110 edge with less than two minutes to play.

The Pistons led 58-54 at halftime, bolstered by Bey's 13 points. The largest margin in the first half was six points, with each team holding a lead of that size.

Detroit went up 61-54 early in the third quarter, but the Hornets entered the fourth quarter with an 84-82 edge.

The Hornets suffered from 11 first-half turnovers, negating some of their 52.4 percent shooting from the field.

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