• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Villanueva's late basket helps Pistons edge Bobcats

Mar 24, 2013 - 6:04 AM Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Charlie Villanueva's layup with 15 seconds left lifted the Detroit Pistons to a 92-91 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday.

Kemba Walker drained a pair of free throws with 31.6 seconds left to give the Bobcats a 91-90 edge.

Villanueva then missed a 3-pointer with 19.8 seconds left, but Greg Monroe tipped the ball to Villanueva, who drove in from the left side and layed it in for the go-ahead score.

Walker then dribbled the clock down, but his jumper rimmed out. Josh McRoberts was there to clean up the miss, but his putback with 0.3 seconds didn't fall.

"We just needed one more stop at the end there. We had a great defensive possession, but the ball came off funny and they were able to get the rebound," said Bobcats guard Jannero Pargo.

Villanueva finished with 18 points and Jason Maxiell added 14 points and four boards for Detroit, which got 10 points, six rebounds and four assists from Brandon Knight.

The Pistons had dropped 10 straight entering the game.

"It felt really good to get a win after that losing streak we were on," Villanueva said. "We kind of got that monkey off our back. You could see how excited everyone was just to get that win."

Walker poured in a game-high 25 points and Bismack Biyombo added 12 points and 10 boards for the Bobcats, who had won two straight entering the contest.

The Pistons trailed 76-69 entering the fourth quarter, but opened the frame on a 12-4 run to go up 81-80 with 6:22 left. The teams traded makes from there until Stuckey canned a trey with 1:57 to go to put Detroit ahead 88-86.

Walker's three-point play with just over a minute left put the Bobcats on top, 89-88, but Villanueva's slam gave the Pistons a one-point edge with 44 seconds to go.

Charlotte led 24-23 after a back-and-forth first quarter and took a 50-47 lead into the break. The Bobcats outscored the Pistons 26-22 in the third.

Game Notes

Detroit outscored the Bobcats 40-32 in the paint ... Stuckey finished with 13 points and Jose Calderon added 11 points and six assists in the triumph ... The Bobcats went 23-for-25 from the free throw line.