Detroit Pistons find way to beat Indiana Pacers again

Frank Vogel didn't get a call he wanted. He might get a fine instead.

After Andre Drummond's tap-in with three-tenths of a second left lifted the Detroit Pistons to a 98-96 victory Friday night, the Indiana Pacers coach questioned a foul from moments earlier.

With the Pacers ahead 95-94, Solomon Hill appeared to cut off Pistons guard Brandon Jennings. Hill was called for the foul, and Jennings made both free throws to put the Pistons ahead with 1:11 left.

Another consequential call was a charge against Pacers center Roy Hibbert with 23.9 seconds on the clock and the score tied at 96. Jennings was isolated against Hill, drove to the rim and missed off the glass.

Drummond didn't miss. He sent the Pistons to their 10th victory in 12 games, silencing a near-sellout crowd of 17,558 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Vogel said the call against Hill "wasn't a foul," essentially daring the NBA to respond.

"He did everything he needed to do to win this basketball game," Vogel said. "We did everything we needed to do to win this basketball game."

The 6-1 Jennings scored a season-high 37 points, but only four came in the fourth quarter, all on free throws. The 6-7 Hill was cast in the stopper role once reserved for Paul George, who is sidelined after breaking his leg in a USA Basketball game Aug. 1.

"He's essentially a rookie, so he doesn't get any respect from the officials," Vogel said of Hill. "So I don't know if we'll continue to do that, if he doesn't get the proper respect from the officials. He does a great job. He guards the ball really well, uses his lane, keeps people in front of him."

Hill was more conciliatory.

"I thought I had the right of way. I guess I didn't," Hill said.

The second-year forward said he didn't think he was penalized for being new to the NBA. He said it had more to do with rewarding Jennings, who was 8-of-13 on 3-pointers (after starting 8-of-9).

"When you get a guy going like that, I think it's definitely going to go his way," Hill said. "He rightfully deserved that from his play during the game. Hopefully, next time I can get that call."

Hibbert conceded he feels "differently" from the referee on the the offensive foul against him. He brushed Drummond, who fell to the floor. Teammate David West said it was a bad call.

"I mean, a guy 280 pounds take a light set-up bump in the shoulder," West said. "It's just a tough call, man, in that spot."

The outcome was both dispiriting and encouraging for the Pacers. Dispiriting because they led by 11 points and it was their ninth defeat in 11 games decided by three or fewer points. Encouraging because it came against a hot team and not bottom-feeders like Philadelphia (8-31) and Minnesota (6-32):

• The Pacers held the Pistons to 37.6 percent shooting, their best in that category in nine games (since a Dec. 29 loss to Chicago).

• The bench delivered major contributions, outscoring the starters 50-46 and Detroit's bench 50-22. Damjan Rudez scored a career-high 13 points.

• The Pacers outscored the Pistons 20-19 in the fourth quarter, even better than their season average of 24 allowed per fourth quarter (seventh in the NBA).

Ian Mahinmi came off the bench for 12 points and nine rebounds, complementing Hibbert's 7-of-11, 14-point night.

"That's a combination at the center position that's made us dominant defensively," Vogel said. "It gives me a lot of reason to be encouraged and excited about what we can accomplish, how we can turn the season around, how we can have a strong second half."

The Pacers hit the midpoint at 15-26, leaving them in a pack of seven striving for the Nos. 7 and 8 playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Detroit is 15-25, a half-game ahead of the Pacers, who are 2 ½ games behind eighth-place Brooklyn.

The Pacers begin a five-game, nine day trip Saturday night at Charlotte. When they return home, they will have played 19 games at home and 27 on the road.

The Pacers built their lead to 62-51 early in the third quarter, but Jennings wouldn't allow it to stay that way. He scored 19 points in the final eight-plus minutes of the quarter, including a rare four-point play. He did that during a 110-second span in which he scored 10 points, featuring three 3s.

Hill restrained Jennings at the finish, but the finish was like so many others.

"I'll take that effort, any game we play," Hill said. "Outcomes like that, it's a lot different from some of the other losses because we know we put it out there."

Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidWoods007.