Detroit
Pistons
center
Andre
Drummond
(0)
knocks
the ball
away
from
Charlotte
Hornets
center
Dwight
Howard
(12)
during
the
first
half of
an NBA
basketball
game,
Wednesday,
Oct.
18,2017,
in
Detroit.
(Photo:
Carlos
Osorio,
AP)
Harris-led
Pistons
beat
Hornets
102-90
in
return
downtown By
LARRY
LAGE
apnews.com
2
mins
read
DETROIT
-
Eminem,
Kid Rock
and Big
Sean
welcomed
the
Detroit
Pistons
back
downtown.
And
the
Motor
City’s
NBA team
gave
their
fans a
reason
to
cheer.
Tobias
Harris
scored
17 of
his 27
points
in the
first
quarter
and had
10
rebounds,
helping
Detroit
celebrate
its
return
to the
city
with a
102-90
victory
over the
Charlotte
Hornets
on
Wednesday
night.
The
Pistons
and
Charlotte
opened
the
season
in
Little
Caesars
Arena, a
new
facility
that
drew
them
downtown
for the
first
time in
nearly
four
decades.
Eminem
made a
surprise
appearance,
grabbing
the
microphone
to fire
up the
crowd
just
before
tipoff.
“I
don’t
think
any of
us knew
that was
coming,”
Harris
said.
“That
was
really
dope.”
Eminem
slipped
away
from the
arena
floor,
and was
later
introduced
to NBA
Commissioner
David
Silver
by
former
Pistons
star
Grant
Hill.
Kid Rock
and Big
Sean, a
couple
other
Motor
City
musical
artists,
sat in
baseline
seats at
the
opposite
ends of
the
court.
Dwight
Howard
had 10
points,
15
rebounds
and two
blocks
in his
debut
with the
Hornets.
Eminem
yells to
the
crowd
before
the
start of
an NBA
basketball
game
between
the
Detroit
Pistons
and the
Charlotte
Hornets,
Wednesday,
Oct.
18,2017,
in
Detroit.
(Photo:
Carlos
Osorio,
AP)
“This is
a long
season,
so we
can’t
panic
after
one
game,”
Howard
said.
“The
champs
lost
(Tuesday
night),
so
anything
can
happen.
We just
have to
learn
from
tonight
and be
better
for
Friday.
We’ll do
that.
Charlotte’s
Kemba
Walker
scored
24
points,
and
Jeremy
Lamb had
15.
Reserve
Langston
Galloway
scored
16
points,
Avery
Bradley
had 15,
and
Henry
Ellenson
added 13
points
for
Detroit.
Reggie
Jackson
had 13
points
and
eight
assists.
Detroit’s
point
guard
spent
the
final
seconds
of the
game
hugging
teammate
Andre
Drummond
at
midcourt,
soaking
up the
feel-good
moment
after a
disappointing
season.
“We
were
just
talking
about
how we
have to
lead
each and
every
night
and be
our best
selves,”
Jackson
said.
“If we
want to
do
something
special,
we have
to do it
on a day
to day
basis.”
The
Pistons
outscored
Charlotte
27-18 in
the
second
quarter,
building
an
11-point
lead
they
didn’t
have
much
trouble
keeping.
TIP-INS
Hornets:
Howard,
Lamb,
Walker,
Marvin
Williams
and
rookie
Dwayne
Bacon
started
the
game,
but
coach
Steve
Clifford
said
that may
not be
the
team’s
regular
lineup.
“I just
don’t
think we
have
that
kind of
team,”
Clifford
said.
... Cody
Zeller
had
eight
points
and nine
rebounds
for an
offensively
challenged
team
that
made
fewer
than 40
percent
of its
shots.
Pistons:
Pistons
owner
Tom
Gores
said he
has
talked
to
Silver
about
Detroit
hosting
an
All-Star
game and
believes
it will
happen.
“It’s
just a
matter
of
when,”
Gore
said.
...
Stanley
Johnson
was 0
for 13
from the
field
and made
two free
throws.
KEY
STAT
Detroit
scored
26
points
off
Charlotte’s
17
turnovers
while
the
Hornets
had just
six
points
off the
Pistons’
nine
turnovers.
“Most
games,
you have
to look
at the
film to
figure
out the
difference
in the
game,
but
that’s
not the
case,”
Charlotte
coach
Steve
Clifford
said.
“It was
obviously
the
turnovers.”
HOMECOMING
The
Pistons
moved
back
downtown
to share
an arena
with the
Red
Wings
after
playing
in the
suburbs
at the
Palace
of
Auburn
Hills
and the
Pontiac
Silverdome.
The team
left
Detroit
in 1978
after
playing
in Cobo
Arena
and
Olympia
Stadium
in the
city.
The
Pistons’
welcomed
back
former
starts
including
Hill,
Dave
Bing and
Bob
Lanier
for
their
Little
Caesars
Arena
debut.
“My
friends
in the ’burbs
and the
city are
excited
about
this,”
Lanier
said. “I
think
this
will
bring
the
energy
back for
the
Pistons
from the
streets
to the
suites.”
ENOUGH
SAID
Pistons
coach
Stan Van
Gundy
credited
Gores
and
Silver
for
including
Eminem,
who
recently
released
a
profane
lyrical
tirade
against
President
Donald
Trump,
in the
pregame
presentation.
“Without
making
any
statement,
they
were
able to
make a
statement
by
involving
Eminem,”
Van
Gundy
said.
UP
NEXT
Hornets:
Host
Atlanta
on
Friday
night in
their
home
opener.
Pistons:
Play at
Washington
on
Friday
night.