Heading into Sunday night's game, the last time the Detroit Pistons defeated the Charlotte Hornets, our world was a much different place.
In fact, the Pistons had not defeated the Hornets since Oct. 18, 2017, which also happened to be the first game at Little Caesars Arena. For those of you who are wondering, the Pistons and Hornets had played 15 times since that day.
But on Sunday night, the stars aligned and Kelly Olynyk drilled a buzzer-beater in overtime to lift the Pistons to a 127-126 win.
Check it out.
Kelly. Olynyk. Winner. As cool as the other side of the pillow. #Pistons@KellyOlynyk pic.twitter.com/PFREUDYxn4
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) February 28, 2022
Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said that a month ago, this probably would not have happened.
“I think we got down five in overtime, and a month ago we would’ve probably hung our head and hung our coat at the end of regulation, but we stayed together, stuck together,” Casey said.
“It really makes you feel good to see guys coming together,” Casey said. “We’re not a finished product at all. They still shot 50% from the field. There’s a lot of things we can do better defensively, a lot of things we can do offensively whether it’s spacing, making the right reads. That’s what encouraging, seeing so many different people contribute in different ways.”
Olynyk said that he believes the Pistons have done a good job staying together and working together.
“We’ve done a really good job of being together and pulling rope into the same direction,” said Olynyk, who also had eight rebounds off the bench Sunday. “Sometimes you have a young team, and everybody’s trying to find their way and their niche, their roles and it’s a roller coaster. It’s tough. Sometimes you get to a point where things just start to click. And part of it is getting everybody healthy and getting everybody on the same page, but for us, it’s just about being connected on both ends of the floor.”
