Drummund powers Pistons last Lakers
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Andre Drummond powered for 24 points and 17 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons pounded the Los Angeles Lakers 121-102 Wednesday night at The Palace.
Detroit's center reached the 20-point mark for the 11th time and grabbed 15-plus rebounds for the 24th time.
The Pistons' top three forwards also scored in double figures. Jon Leuer had 20 points, Tobias Harris tossed in 19, and Marcus Morris supplied 14.
Ish Smith added 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds, and Aron Baynes chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for Detroit (25-28), which has won seven of its last eight home games.
Julius Randle and Lou Williams had 17 points apiece to lead the Lakers (18-37), who have lost 11 of their last 14 games. Rookie Brandon Ingram contributed 15 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson added 12 points for Los Angeles, which committed 21 turnovers.
Detroit shot 71.4 percent in the third quarter and outscored Los Angeles 36-20 to turn the game into a blowout. Drummond made all seven of his field-goal attempts during the quarter, then sat out the fourth.
Morris scored on consecutive possessions early in the quarter, finishing off an 11-4 Pistons spurt, which gave them a 67-54 lead. Following Los Angeles' sixth turnover of the quarter, Drummond converted an alley-oop pass from Reggie Jackson. Leuer dunked on Detroit's next possession to make it 77-61.
A Harris 3-pointer pushed the lead to 20. Drummond's putback in the closing seconds of the quarter increased the advantage to 22, 92-70.
Drummond collected his 34th double-double by halftime as the Pistons established a 56-50 halftime lead. Drummond had 10 points and 12 rebounds by the break, and Detroit also got an 11-point lift off the bench from Harris.
The Lakers committed 12 first-half turnovers but the Pistons only managed to score six points off them.
NOTES: Los Angeles has now won 12 of the last 16 meetings. ... Pistons PF Jon Leuer played his 300th career game. ... The Lakers have used 17 different lineups. ... Detroit PG Ish Smith ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.59, behind only injured Los Angeles Clippers PG Chris Paul (4.06). ... The Lakers played their final regular season game in Auburn Hills, with the Pistons moving into Detroit next season. Los Angeles coach Luke Walton was a member of the Lakers when they lost to the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. "All the fruit they'd give us in the locker room was rotted and stale. All the popcorn was stale, the hot water didn't work in the showers," he said. "I respect it, honestly. It's the NBA Finals, they're trying to win and make it uncomfortable for the other team." ... Detroit is 2-18 when scoring under 100 points.