Strong third quarter pushes Piston to win
Andre Drummond had 32 points and 17 rebounds, and the Pistons extended their winning streak to four with a 121-112 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night in Detroit.
Blake Griffin had 20 of his 31 points in the first half for the Pistons, who haven’t lost since blowing a 25-point lead in a home defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 2. Detroit began Monday tied with Miami for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards, who are without injured John Wall and Dwight Howard, traded Otto Porter Jr. away last week. Nevertheless, they came into the game on a two-game winning streak before falling short against Detroit.
The Pistons led by 10 in the first quarter. They were up 61-59 at halftime before pushing the lead back into double digits in the third. Detroit went on a 13-2 run and took an 81-71 advantage on a three-pointer by newly acquired centre Thon Maker. Bradley Beal had 32 points and 10 assists for the Wizards. Detroit’s Reggie Jackson had 16 points, six assists and seven turnovers. He went 4 of 4 from threepoint range while Luke Kennard went four of six from three and had 15 points. Detroit was 15 of 36 from beyond the arc.
Wayne Ellington played for the first time since signing with Detroit. He missed his first six shots from the field — all from threepoint range — and finished with two points. The Pistons are at Boston on Wednesday night.
GOOD HOME DEBUT FOR GASOL
Raptors fans welcomed newcomer Marc Gasol to Toronto with a standing ovation on Monday. The player affectionately known as “Big Spain” showed them some love in return.
Playing just his second game for the Raptors, and first in Toronto, Gasol scored nine of the Raptors’ first 11 points in a key stretch of the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets, including a threepointer that gave Toronto a sevenpoint lead and brought the fans at Scotiabank Arena out of their seats.
Gasol had 16 points in 22 minutes of the Raptors’ 127-125 victory, plus six rebounds and one of his two assists was a swift dish to a cutting Pascal Siakam for a big basket. The 34-year-old, who’d lived in Memphis since he was 16 and had been with the Grizzlies for 11 seasons, was traded for the first time last week when the Raptors acquired him in a blockbuster deal at Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
Gasol, who received a standing ovation when he entered Monday’s game with 3:03 left in the first quarter, said the team’s post-season aspirations, plus the team’s Spanish connection, eased his transition.
“(It’s) the sole goal of winning. There’s no doubt, there’s no hesitation, we’re here to win, and how you contribute to that, it’s what’s important,” Gasol said with a smile. “So that makes things a lot easier because at the end of the day that’s the answer that you’re going to get.”