Harris leads Pistons over Hornets in rare road win
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tobias Harris scored 24 points, and the Detroit Pistons withstood the loss of center Andre Drummond in the first half to gut out a 112-89 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night at the Spectrum Center.
The Pistons (9-10) claimed just their second road win all season, after losing eight of their previous nine on the road.
They shot 48.9 percent from the field, with Harris going 9 of 12 to lead the way. They were 23 of 28 from 3-point range.
Drummond was called for a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected with 4:09 left in the second quarter. He made contact with Charlotte's Roy Hibbert as the two were fighting for rebound position on a 3-pointer by Kemba Walker, which tied the score 46-46 at the time. Drummond finished with three points and six rebounds.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris added 18 points apiece for the Pistons. Ish Smith scored 13, and Jon Leuer scored 12.
The Hornets (10-8) had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Walker led the Hornets with 23 points, Marco Belinelli scored 11, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 10. Nic Batum had 11 rebounds and Cody Zeller had 10 rebounds.
The Pistons jumped to a quick 13-2 lead and went on to lead 33-25 after one quarter. Charlotte had a 12-0 run to lead briefly in the second quarter, partly thanks to Drummond's Flagrant 2, but the Pistons regained control to lead 57-54 at halftime.
Detroit then led by as many as 12 in the third quarter and took an 84-74 lead into the fourth.
Its biggest lead was 106-82.
NOTES: The Hornets were without F Marvin Williams (knee) for the third consecutive game. ... G Reggie Jackson (knee) has yet to play for the Pistons this season, but he could return in the next week. ... The Pistons were also missing G Reggie Bullock, who is out indefinitely due to a left knee meniscus tear. ... The Hornets started a stretch in which their next six opponents all have losing records. ... The game featured the two least turnover-prone teams in the NBA. The Pistons led the league through Monday, averaging 11.5 turnovers per game, and Hornets were second at 11.7. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford was an assistant under Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy in Orlando from 2007-12. ... The Pistons will play at Boston on Wednesday. ... The Hornets will remain home to face Dallas on Thursday.