Pistons 89, Magic 78
Ben Gordon scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half, leading the Detroit Pistons to an 89-78 win over the visiting Orlando Magic at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit (2-3) gave coach Lawrence Frank back-to-back victories after snapping his 20-game losing skid going back to his tenure with New Jersey.
Orlando (4-2) lost its second straight meeting with the Pistons but is still 5-2 in its last seven with Detroit.
Gordon drained a long jumper with the shot clock expiring to keep the Pistons seven points ahead of the Magic with 4:24 remaining in the game, breaking the backs of an exhausted Orlando squad.
The Magic, playing their sixth game in nine nights, looked drained on both ends of the floor. Orlando took just 30 shots in the first half and was lazy moving the basketball, posting 17 turnovers.
The Magic, who battled back from 13-points down in the fourth quarter against Toronto Sunday, didn’t have anything left in the tank down the home stretch. Orlando shot just 8 for 22 from 3-point range.
The Pistons took advantage of a lackadaisical Magic defense, drawing 24 fouls and picking up 25 points from the foul line. Point guard Rodney Stuckey picked up 10 of his 14 points at the foul line.
Orlando center Dwight Howard fouled out of the game on an illegal screen with just under three minutes remaining and finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Ryan Anderson and Hedo Turkoglu both added 13 points.