Harris, Drummond power Pistons past Nuggets
DENVER -- Tobias Harris scored 19 points and Andre Drummond had 14 and 12 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons beat the Nuggets 106-95 for their first win in Denver in seven years.
Marcus Morris scored 17 points and Jon Leuer had 14 and 10 rebounds for Detroit, which won on the road for the first time this season. Six players, including all five starters, scored in double figures for the Pistons, who snapped a seven-game losing streak in Denver.
Emmanuel Mudiay led Denver with 19 points and Danilo Gallinari had 18. The Nuggets have lost four of their last five and fell to 0-3 at home.
The game was similar to the Pistons' 103-86 win in Auburn Hills, Mich., a week ago. Detroit jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter and kept the Nuggets at bay.
Denver had eight turnovers in the first period, which led to some easy buckets for Detroit.
The Pistons, who came in shooting 39.6 percent in road games, hit 64 percent of their shots en route to taking a 36-21 lead into the second quarter. They shot 51.1 percent on the night.
Detroit led 44-29 before the Nuggets reeled off 11 straight points to get back into it.
The Pistons never relinquished the lead. Several times the margin shrunk to four in the second half but Detroit always found a way to extend it.
It continued late into the game when Denver chipped away at a nine-point deficit. Jamal Murray hit a floating jumper and Gallinari drained a long 3-pointer to make it 93-89. Drummond answered buckets by Gallinari and Kenneth Faried with a dunk and a hook to make it 99-93.
After Mudiay split a pair of free throws, Ish Smith hit a jumper with 2:02 left and Gallinari hit a free throw at the other end to make it 101-95 with 1:29 left.
Harris hit a jumper over Mudiay to put Detroit ahead by eight with 1:07 left and the Pistons held on.
NOTES: The Nuggets were again without G Will Barton (sprained left ankle) and F Darrell Arthur (knee). Denver coach Michael Malone said Barton, who sprained his ankle in Toronto on Nov. 1, is improving but is probably a couple of weeks away from coming back. ... Detroit made just one 3-pointer in the loss in San Antonio on Friday night, and it was by C Andre Drummond. It was Drummond's fourth career 3-pointer. ... The Nuggets are still awaiting word from the league office about the protest they filed for the blown call at the end of the loss to Memphis on Tuesday. Officials mistakenly awarded possession to the Grizzlies with 0.7 seconds left, and they won it on a buzzer-beater. ... Pistons G Reggie Jackson, who is out with a knee injury, played high school basketball in Colorado Springs.