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- Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon will not play on the second game of a back-to-back to protect his oft-injured right knee. Rookie Austin Rivers will replace him. “Austin has been working his tail off and he’s been playing a little bit more solid basketball, so wer’re going to give him a shot tonight,” coach Monty Williams said. “He’s starting to find his niche, driving to the basket and taking open shots, and he’s getting better with his weakside defense.”
- The Pistons have averaged 26.3 assists over the last three games, thanks to the presence of recently-acquired point guard Jose Calderon. “Especially off pick-and-roll play, Jose understands all the reads,” coach Lawrence Frank said. “He gets it. He’s been doing it for awhile now. He’s able to find guys, whether it’s with late passes, whether it’s looking off help, whether it’s one more dribble or one less dribble, and in transition we’re getting advance passes. What happens, it’s all contagious. Once that ball starts moving and you see a guy give up shots, the next guy is more prone to doing it as well.”
- Detroit center Greg Monroe has six straight double-doubles, the longest streak by a Piston since Ben Wallace had seven straight in 2003.
– Dana Gauruder
