Raptors at Pistons
The Toronto Raptors ended a long, successful homestand with a dramatic victory and now hit the road for the first time in nearly a month when they visit the surging Detroit Pistons on Sunday. All-Star Kawhi Leonard capped a 38-point effort with a basket in the waning seconds to lift the Raptors to a 119-117 win over Portland on Friday.
The victory put the finishing touches on a 5-1 homestand and kept Toronto within 2 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference entering Saturday. "That was a tough-minded win," Raptors center Marc Gasol told reporters after his team won for the ninth time in 10 games. "Very gritty. It was good." The Pistons are coming off a 129-93 triumph at Cleveland on Saturday, their eighth win in 10 contests. Detroit, which sits in a virtual tie for sixth place in the East, erased a 19-point deficit and got a game-winning shot from Reggie Bullock to steal a 106-104 victory at Toronto in the first meeting on Nov. 14.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, TSN2 (Toronto), FS Detroit
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (46-17): While Leonard shined in Friday's win, coach Nick Nurse was impressed with the play of Gasol, whose 19 points represents a high for him since being acquired from Memphis last month. "He was really good tonight," Nurse told reporters of Gasol, who made 9-of-13 shots while recording eight rebounds and six assists. "It looked like all of a sudden, the rust was gone." The veteran center was making his second start in a Toronto uniform and was part of an opening five that combined for 103 points on 62.3 percent shooting.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (30-31): Detroit opened a 19-point lead after one quarter in Cleveland and went up by 33 at the break, which afforded the team the opportunity to rest its regulars on the front end of the back-to-back set. Backup Luke Kennard scored 26 points in just 22 minutes while Reggie Jackson finished with 24 in 21, with the two combining to make 10-of-11 3-pointers. "We put together a really solid game, offensively, defensively," All-Star forward Blake Griffin told reporters. "The ball was moving. We played the right brand of basketball. I know I keep saying that, but we've been on a much better streak, regardless of wins or losses."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors C Serge Ibaka missed all five of his attempts on Friday and is shooting 46.3 percent as a reserve, compared to 53.3 percent as a starter.
2. Griffin recorded 30 points and 12 rebounds in the earlier victory at Toronto.
3. Kennard has gone 23-for-36 from the floor in Detroit's last three wins.