(Photo: David Santiago, Tribune News Service)
Miami — On Monday, the Pistons welcomed Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose back to the lineup. A day later, the two stars were back out of it.
Both Griffin and Rose rested on the second night of a back-to-back, leaving the Pistons shorthanded. A flight delay for the team plane getting to Miami added to the Pistons’ woes. They fell into a 29-point deficit in the second quarter and battled back to make it interesting in the fourth quarter.
Close, but not close enough.
The Pistons got within eight points in the final five minutes, but couldn’t get any closer, as the Miami Heat took a 117-108 victory on Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena.