Pistons 115, Magic 89
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 21 points and reserve point guard Brandon Jennings supplied 17 points and six assists in his fourth game of the season as the Detroit Pistons blew out the Orlando Magic 115-89 on Monday at The Palace.
Caldwell-Pope, Detroit's starting shooting guard, also grabbed six rebounds and reached the 2,000-point mark for his career. Jennings, who missed the first 31 games while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, scored 12 second-half points for the Pistons (19-16).
Center Andre Drummond collected 17 points and 12 rebounds despite sitting out the fourth quarter for Detroit, which had lost four of its last five games. Point guard Reggie Jackson had 14 points and seven assists and small forward Marcus Morris chipped in 13 points.
The Pistons led by as much as 32 in the second half.
Combo guard Victor Oladipo had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Magic (19-16), who have lost three straight. Orlando center Nikola Vucevic tossed in 16 points, his backup Andrew Nicholson added 14 and reserve power forward Jason Smith scored a season-high 12 points.
Magic second-year point guard Elfrid Payton missed the first game of his pro career with a left ankle contusion.
Jackson scored 10 third-quarter points as the Pistons took a 14-point lead into the fourth.
Orlando scored the first seven points of the second half to cut Detroit's 10-point halftime lead to three. Oladipo drilled a 3-pointer to make it 65-63 before the Pistons went on a 16-4 run. Power forward Ersan Ilyasova scored the last five points during that span and Jennings fired in a 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded.
Detroit pushed the lead to more than 20 when Jennings assisted on a Caldwell-Pope fast-break layup and 3-pointer to make it 100-76
Drummond piled up 15 points and eight rebounds by halftime as the Pistons led 57-47.
NOTES: Orlando coach Scott Skiles was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. The Magic had a 10-5 record in December. "It really should be 'Team of the Month,'" Skiles said. ... Magic G Victor Oladipo was headed to the starting lineup regardless of point guard Elfrid Payton's ankle injury. "The last (nine games) our defensive rating is 28th in the league, so it makes sense to put my best defensive player back out there," Skiles said. ... Detroit SF Marcus Morris was fined $15,000 by the league on Monday for shoving Indiana's Paul George at the end of the Pistons' 94-82 loss to the Pacers on Saturday. ... Pistons PF Ersan Ilyasova has taken a league-best 22 charges, 10 more than any other player. ... Detroit won the last three meetings. ... Orlando C Nikola Vucevic averaged 20 points during the previous nine games.