Ugly win tonight, but we'll take it. The Pistons only shot 43% from the floor, but it was enough because the Nuggets bricked their way to 36%. Tay, CB, and Rip each scored exactly 20. Rip struggled in the first half but got it going during a key stretch of the 4th, and some big shots by CB and Tay were enough down the stretch. Some bad turnovers popped up from time to time, but the Pistons still only had 11 for the game, with a big 29 assists to get past that key total of 25 that almost always gets them the win. CB brain-locked and fouled J.R. Smith on a 30 foot desperation shot with the Nuggets down 3 in the final 10 seconds, but J.R. missed the 2nd FT, and the Nuggets misfired on a good chance to tip in his next miss before the Pistons grabbed the ball and clinched the win with CB at the line.

Bench was pretty bad, only 12 points total. Hayes went from 18 against the Suns to a big fat 0 tonight. Stuckey was lousy in the first half but actually played pretty well for most of his stretch in the 4th quarter; I think he was -2 in the 2nd quarter but +6 in the 4th.

Nice start to the road trip, with one flawless win followed by a painful but gutsy victory. Even if they continue their endless losing streak at Utah on Wednesday night, a win over the Clippers to end the trip would result in a very nice 3-1 record. And if they somehow break through against the Jazz, they'll have a great chance at 4-0.