Pistons 107, 76ers 95
PHILADELPHIA -- Guard Reggie Jackson and forward Marcus Morris scored 21 points apiece as the Detroit Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-95 on Friday night.
Morris, a Philadelphia native, had 13 points in a decisive third-quarter stretch as Detroit (13-11) ended a four-game road losing streak and a three-game slide in Philadelphia.
Center Andre Drummond generated 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons. Forward Ersan Ilyasova chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds, and Detroit converted 21 Philadelphia turnovers into 31 points.
Center Jahlil Okafor had 22 points to pace Philadelphia (1-23), which dropped its fifth straight since posting its lone victory of the season. Forward Robert Covington contributed 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Pistons, who led by as many as 24 points early in the game, were up 60-49 a little over a minute left in the third quarter. Then Morris keyed a 28-10 rush by scoring 13 points during a 6:17 span, including three 3-pointers, the last of which he banked in from the right wing. That propelled Detroit to an 88-59 lead with 2:24 left in the quarter.
Detroit stormed to a 35-11 lead at the beginning of the game behind 11 points from Jackson and 10 from Ilyasova. But the Sixers outscored the Pistons 29-9 in the next nine minutes to cut the gap to 44-40 with 4:16 left in the first half.
Detroit pushed the lead to 58-46 by halftime, at which point Jackson had 15 points and Ilyasova and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 10 each. Drummond collected nine points and 10 boards in the first 24 minutes.
Covington and Okafor had 11 points each for the Sixers in the first half.
Philadelphia's Kendall Marshall, who missed the first 23 games while recovering from knee surgery, made his season debut with a start at point guard. He had five points and six assists in 16 minutes.
NOTES: Before the game, the Sixers announced a contract extension for coach Brett Brown. The 54-year-old Brown, in the next-to-last year of a four-year deal, is now signed through the 2018-19 season, according to Yahoo Sports. ... Philadelphia G Tony Wroten, who only recently returned from knee surgery, did not play. Brown said Wroten, who made his first start of the season on Thursday in Brooklyn, will not play back-to-back games for the time being. ... The Pistons were coming off a 93-92 home loss to Memphis on Wednesday when a half-court shot by Grizzlies G-F Matt Barnes in the closing seconds proved decisive. "No losses are easy," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They're all hard to move on from. That one was no different than any other."