NBA

Monk's 3 points at the buzzer lifts Hornets over Pistons

Malik Monk's 26-foot 3-point basket at the buzzer gave the Charlotte Hornets a 109-106 victory against the visiting Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

The Hornets countered Langston Galloway's 3-pointer that gave the Pistons a three-point lead with 50 seconds left by scoring a pair of 3-pointers in the last 24 seconds.

First it was Marvin Williams with a long-range connection. Then the Pistons were holding for the last shot, but Derrick Rose's turnover with one second left gave Charlotte a final chance to win it.

Cody Martin was inserted into the game and his inbounds pass to Monk set up the winning shot as Charlotte ended a four-game losing streak.

Monk and Terry Rozier tallied 19 points apiece for Charlotte. Devonte' Graham poured in 18 points, P.J. Washington added 11 points, and Cody Zeller and Bismack Biyombo each posted 10 points.

The Hornets finally cranked up the defense and it made a difference. The Pistons managed 32 points across the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Galloway's 32 points and Blake Griffin's 19 paced the Pistons, who've lost four straight games. Andre Drummond and Rose each provided 16 points, with Drummond grabbing 20 rebounds.

Rose's 3-pointer for Detroit tied the game at 103-103 with 2:22 to play.

The Hornets, who scored 11 of the first 13 points of the third quarter after trailing 65-51 at the half, surged ahead by early in the fourth quarter. Charlotte's 32-18 third-quarter edge matched the largest positive margin in a quarter this season for the team.

Griffin, who sat out Tuesday's game so he didn't have to play on back-to-back nights coming off a hamstring injury, was back in the starting lineup. Rose, in a similar situation, played off the bench for Detroit.

The Pistons broke out to a 22-9 lead. The gap was 35-25 by the end of the first quarter, continuing a disturbing defensive trend for the Hornets, who've given up several 30-point quarters.

Galloway scored 15 first-half points off the bench.

Detroit committed 19 turnovers to Charlotte's 10. —Field Level Media/Reuters