Pistons 103, Nets 87
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Andre Drummond posted his league-high 31st double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons pulled away to a 103-87 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night at The Palace.
The fourth-year center made 11 of 15 field-goal attempts for the Pistons (21-16), who have won three straight. Point guard Reggie Jackson supplied 23 points and eight assists and power forward Ersan Ilyasova notched his second double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Detroit rookie Stanley Johnson made his first start in place of small forward Marcus Morris, who was a late scratch due to left knee tendinitis. Johnson wound up with eight points and four rebounds. The Pistons had started the same lineup all season.
Center Brook Lopez's 19 points and seven rebounds led the Nets (10-27), who have lost four straight and 12 of their last 15. Point guard Donald Sloan contributed a season-high 15 points and 10 assists off the bench, small forward Joe Johnson had 14 points and power forward Thaddeus Young added 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Nets also altered their starting five, as coach Lionel Hollins inserted Markel Brown at shooting guard in place of Bojan Bogdanovic. Brown only played 14 minutes and scored one basket.
Detroit led by 14 early in the third but Brooklyn climbed back with a 14-2 spurt, capped by a Lopez three-point play, to make it 64-62. The Pistons nudged the advantage to six by the end of the quarter.
With mostly reserves on the court, the Pistons extended the lead to 79-66 during the first three minutes of the fourth. Reserve power forward Anthony Tolliver made a 3-pointer during the stretch and center Aron Baynes completed it with a sweeping hook. The lead remained in double digits the remainder of the game.
Drummond and Jackson combined for 29 first-half points as the Pistons led 56-46 at halftime. Detroit had three players in double figures by the end of the first quarter.
NOTES: Nets PF Andrea Bargnani did not play against Orlando on Friday. "We're struggling and I made a decision to go with T-Rob (Thomas Robinson)," Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins said. "We've got to make changes." ... The Pistons are 10th in points allowed at 99.3 per game. "Our defense by the numbers has gotten a lot better," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We were in the bottom 10 last year defensively. We're in the top 10 now." ... Both teams host San Antonio in their next outing - Monday in Brooklyn and Tuesday in Detroit. ... The Nets won eight of the last 12 meetings. ... The Pistons are 16-2 when shooting at least 33 percent on 3-point attempts. ... Nets 34-year-old SF Joe Johnson is averaging a team-high 34.8 minutes. He has played the second-most minutes in the NBA since 2003-04, behind only LeBron James.