Hits and Flops: Orlando Magic vs Detroit Pistons

Result: Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 120-115 in overtime.

When the Pistons hosted the Magic, they were ailing from the most recent loss by the hands of Utah still.

Detroit pulled away in the third period but Orlando managed to push it past for overtime, where eventually, the hosts emerged victorious. The 120-115 overtime loss for the Magic was their 20th in the last 26 games played in Detroit.

The Pistons improved to 19-24(0.442) on the season though down at the 9th spot and still 12.5 games below the Conference leaders. This was only their third win in the last ten games.

On the other hand, Orlando Magic have lost significant touch and have now slid down to a disappointing 10th spot, right below the team they lost to. They possess a 19-25(0.432) win-loss record to show for the season, having won just seven games on the road this season so far.

Keeping the individual performances in mind, let's list the two best performers followed by the two who disappointed in this thrilling clash.

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Hit: Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin is averaging a career-high 25.5 ppg this season.

Although Griffin missed a possible game-winner after running down the clock in the dying minutes of regulation, his overall performance is still worthy of applause.

Blake had just dropped his second highest score of the season(44) against his former team a couple of games ago. For a man who is on a tear this season offensively, Griffin lived up to the reputation, scoring a game-high 30 points playing a game-high 40 minutes on the night.

"I thought we were sluggish, which is understandable coming off a West Coast trip, but we dug down defensively," Griffin said. "In overtime, we were getting stops and forcing them into shots that we wanted. That was great."

Shooting a decent 11-of-18 from the floor, he also contributed with a pair of blocked shots on the defensive end and made seven of his ten attempted free-throws.

Flop: Evan Fournier

Evan Fournier was a round 1 draft pick by the Nuggets back in 2012.

Fournier is coming off of a career-high season in scoring and to the dismay of many, he hasn't improved on his average of 17.8 points per game from last year.

He drove the Magic's early-season spurt to glory and scored as high as 31 points against the Sixers back in October. However, things have died down in Orlando lately and so is the case with Evan as well.

He played a game-high 40 minutes against the Pistons and came up with 18 points - which is decent but not good enough to help your team edge past the opposition in a tight encounter - shooting a miserable 3-of-9 from the deep.

The Magic starter shot a sub-par 7-of-15 from the field while his teammate Terrence Ross blazed off the bench for 24 points(on 6-of-12 shooting from distance).

Fournier's season average for his year is yet to cross the 15 points per game mark.

Hit: Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond is the leading the league in rebounds per game this season.

For a monster rebounder like Drummond, it shouldn't be a surprise for the opponents that they were outrebounded 47-35 in the matchup.

The man is averaging 15.1 rebounds per game this season(the second best being DeAndre Jordan with 13.9 rpg) and for this game, in particular, he pulled down 22 boards, half of which were on the offensive glass.

"Andre's the best rebounder in the league -- it isn't even close -- and that's a huge asset," Pistons Coach Casey said.

Drummond has created a league of his own, where he leads with the most number of triple-doubles(11) of points, defensive rebounds and offensive rebounds, currently possessing four more than any active player.

Against the Magic, he also contributed with 14 points coupled with a singular blocked shot for the night, shooting 7-of-15 from the field.

This was Andre's second 20+ rebound game in the last three matchups and an amazing tenth time in the season that he pulled at least 20 boards in a game.

Flop: Aaron Gordon

Aaron Gordon is the only Magic player(apart from Vucevic) to be averaging 15+ ppg this season.

It would be safe to say, Aaron Gordon had a pretty forgettable night.

In all the 37 minutes he was on the court, Gordon shot 5-of-11 from the field, and could make not a single one of his three long-range attempts.

He could only chip in with 12 points on a night when his team needed him the most, and to add insult to injury, was fouled out in due course of time as well.

Coming into this one, Gordon had dropped solid 20+ numbers against quality sides in Boston and Houston, but he couldn't carry the momentum over for this game in Detroit. Apart from his scoring total, he had 8 rebounds, a couple of assists and a single steal to offer.

Both Fournier and Gordon are the second in line for Orlando - in terms of scoring - after Nikola Vucevic, but combined for a meager total of 30 points on the night.