Pistons stay unbeaten with Griffin, beat Blazers
DETROIT » Andre Drummond had 17 points and 17 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-91 Monday night for their fourth straight victory.
Detroit has won three in a row with Blake Griffin in the lineup after acquiring him in a trade last week. The victory Monday pulled the Pistons back to .500 and even with Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Griffin had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and did a good bit of his offensive damage from the perimeter, making three 3-pointers. Anthony Tolliver added 15 points for Detroit, and Reggie Bullock and Langston Galloway contributed 13 apiece.
Damian Lillard scored 20 points and C.J. McCollum added 14 for the Blazers, who lost again after falling at the buzzer at Boston on Sunday. Portland was without Evan Turner on Monday because of a left calf injury. WIZARDS 111, PACERS 102 » All-Star guard Bradley Beal scored 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 to help Washington hold on to beat Indiana.
The Wizards have won five straight overall, all without John Wall, and four in a row over the Pacers.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points for the Pacers, trying to spur a fourth-quarter rally. Joe Young added 17 as Indiana’s six-game home winning streak ended.
Without starting guards Victor Oladipo (illness) and Darren Collison (left knee surgery), the Pacers were out of sync all night. JAZZ 133, PELICANS 109 » Rodney Hood scored 30 points in his second game back from a lower leg bruise and surging Utah extended its winning streak to six with a victory over New Orleans.
Ricky Rubio had 20 points and 11 assists, and Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who made 14 of 21 3-point attempts and shot 58.4 percent (52 of 89) overall their highest-scoring game this season.
Jrue Holiday scored 28 points, and Anthony Davis had 15 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which has lost four of five since losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to a season-ending left Achilles tear on Jan. 26. MAGIC 111, HEAT 109 » Mario Hezonja scored 20 points, Jonathan Simmons made the tiebreaking dunk with 1:31 remaining, and Orlando beat Miami.
The Heat appeared to tie the game after Tyler Johnson was credited with a basket when Orlando’s Bismack Biyombo was called for goaltending with 2.8 seconds remaining. A video review overturned the call.
Starting for the injured Aaron Gordon, Hezonja shot 7 of 14 from the field and 4 of 9 3-pointers as the Magic won their third road game in the last 24.
Josh Richardson scored 20 points for Miami. Hassan Whiteside added 19 and Justise Winslow finished with 16.