Detroit @ Charlotte preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2018 ) Charlotte 118, Detroit 107

The Detroit Pistons could not come up with a win out of the break and have suddenly dropped four of five while attempting to get back into the top eight in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons will try their luck Sunday on the road against a surging Charlotte Hornets squad.

Detroit is two games under .500 and sitting in the No. 9 spot in the East with 24 games remaining in the regular season, 15 of which will come on the road, and suffered a 110-98 home loss to the Boston Celtics coming out of the break on Friday. "Everybody had high hopes for us to come out and play the right way, but it didn't go that way today," All-Star center Andre Drummond told reporters. "We've got 24 games left. We've got to figure out what we need to do to get these wins to get back in the playoff race." The Hornets are trying to play their way into the playoff race as well and used a three-game winning streak to pull within 2 1/2 games of the Pistons. Charlotte did not show any sluggishness coming out of the break and followed a 111-96 win over Brooklyn on Thursday with a 122-105 pasting of the Washington Wizards on Friday.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, FS Southeast (Charlotte)

ABOUT THE PISTONS (28-30): Detroit's bench was outscored 65-21 in Friday's loss, undermining a solid effort from the starters. "I thought the first quarter we did a great job of playing with energy," power forward Blake Griffin told reporters. "I thought we were fresh. Then second through fourth, I thought we just had no energy, had no drive. I thought we were trying, but it just kind of looked like everybody was moving in slow motion a little bit." Drummond found enough energy to record his 13th straight double-double and finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (26-33): Charlotte watched its bench step up on Friday as reserve forward Frank Kaminsky scored 23 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers in nine attempts. "I feel good," Kaminsky told reporters. "Obviously, when the ball goes in you just get more and more confidence. It felt like everything that I was putting up was going to go in. It was just one of those nights for me and I hope I can keep it going." All-Star point guard Kemba Walker added five 3-pointers on Friday and is averaging 27.5 points in two games since the break.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hornets PF Marvin Williams is 7-of-12 from 3-point range in the last two games after going 2-of-10 in the three games prior to the break.

2. Pistons PG Ish Smith scored at least 20 points in each of the last two contests after hitting the mark once previously this season.

3. Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with a 118-107 win at Detroit on Jan. 15.

PREDICTION: Hornets 106, Pistons 101