Trail Blazers at Pistons
The Blake Griffin era is off to a rousing start for the Detroit Pistons, who seek their fourth consecutive win and third in a row with the star power forward in the lineup when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday. Griffin hit a big 3-pointer late in the 111-107 win over Miami on Saturday as Detroit matched its longest winning streak since a five-game run to open November.
Acquired in the blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers last week, Griffin is averaging 20 points, 9.5 rebounds and six assists in his first two games with his new team, although he admitted the second contest was a bit more difficult than the first. "Just a little more tired today - the adrenaline wore off a little bit, just the toll of the week," Griffin told reporters on Saturday. "It's amazing to see all these guys step up and play so well." The Trail Blazers come to town looking to recover from a buzzer-beater in Boston that resulted in a 97-96 loss. CJ McCollum led the way with 21 points for Portland, which was ahead by 16 at halftime before falling to 14-14 on the road.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Northwest (Portland), FS Detroit
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (29-24): Portland scored at least 100 points in 17 straight games before seeing that streak end in Boston while shooting 39.6 percent. Damian Lillard was one of the culprits with a 6-for-19 effort, recording his worst single-game shooting percentage (31.6) since Nov. 13. Maurice Harkless helped to pick up much of the slack by making a career-high five 3-pointers in as many attempts and scoring 19 points, eclipsing his total from the previous eight games combined.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (25-26): All-Star center Andre Drummond has welcomed Griffin with open arms, and the tandem has shown flashes of dominance underneath, outrebounding Miami on their own by a 29-26 margin. Drummond grabbed 20 of those boards to go along with 23 points, four blocks and four steals, and the big man has registered six straight double-doubles. "Andre was unbelievable tonight," Griffin said. "Ish (Smith), Langston (Galloway), you can go down the line and probably name a big play or a big moment that everybody had. So, this was the true definition of a team win, to me."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Smith scored a season-high 25 points against the Heat and is shooting 60.7 percent over his last five games.
2. Lillard needs 27 points to move ahead of Jerome Kersey (10,067) for fifth place on the franchise list.
3. Drummond averaged 23.5 points and 14.5 rebounds as Detroit went 2-0 against Portland last season.