Pistons 95, Kings 90
Pistons 95, Kings 90: Greg Monroe had 24 points and eight rebounds off the bench as visiting Detroit won its second straight game.
Josh Smith added 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks for the Pistons, who hadn’t won back-to-back road games in nearly a year. Andre Drummond also posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Kyle Singler contributed 11 points for Detroit.
Rudy Gay had 20 points, eight assists and eight rebounds to lead Sacramento. Carl Landry finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds off the bench and Ben McLemore scored 14 for the Kings, who shot just 35.5 percent from the field.
The Kings led by three entering the second half but couldn’t sustain their momentum. Drummond's first rebound of the game led to a three-point play by Smith and the Pistons moved ahead 50-46. The Kings ended up missing their first 10 shots of the third quarter as Detroit stretched its lead to eight.
The Pistons maintained a 67-60 edge heading into the fourth and Drummond scored on the first possession to make it a nine-point lead. The Kings crawled back within six twice and as close as four with 2:13 left, but that’s as close as they’d get.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Sacramento Kings C DeMarcus Cousins missed his ninth straight game with viral meningitis and the Kings fell to 2-7 in that span. … Ryan Hollins replaced Reggie Evans in the starting lineup at center for the Kings and finished with six points and eight rebounds. … The Pistons have won four in a row against the Kings overall.