Old-school tussle goes Pistons’ way
Drummond thrives in win at Boston
BOSTON — Findlayprepproduct Avery Bradley had his homecoming, but no one on the Pistons enjoys a trip to Boston more than Andre Drummond.
The Detroit center had season highs of 26 points and 22 rebounds on Monday to lead the Pistons to a 118-108 victory and send the Celtics to their first loss on the parquet floor since their home opener.
Tobias Harris scored 31 for Detroit in the matchup of old-school rivals who are once again the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
“They’ll remember it. That’s one of those memorable games,” said Drummond, who went to high school and college in Connecticut. “We came in, them being the No. 1 team and us getting a lot of points.
“Me being the hometown kid, having the night I did, that’s something they’ll have to remember.”
Drummond had 10 rebounds in the first quarter and 11 points in the last 5:36 to help Detroit win for the third time in four games. In 10 games in Boston, he has averaged 16.2 rebounds; it was the third time he had grabbed 22 boards in the building.
He added six assists and four steals, becoming the first player with that many points, rebounds, assists and steals since Charles Barkley on Jan. 20, 1990, according to Nba.com.
Reggie Jackson had 20 points and seven assists for the Pistons, who opened an 11-point lead in the first quarter but needed consecutive three-point plays from Drummond down the stretch to pull away.
Bradley, who played the first seven years of his career for the Celtics, received a standing ovation during pregame introductions and then scored 13 points.
“For them to show that respect to me means a lot to me,” Bradley said. “This will always be my second home.”
Marcus Smart scored 23 points, making 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and Kyrie Irving had 18 points and nine assists for the Celtics, who have lost two of four since a 16-game win streak.
Kings 110, Warriors 106 —
■ At Oakland, Calif., Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a go-ahead bank shot with 12.6 seconds left to lift Sacramento, which benefited from the absences of All-stars Stephen Curry (right hand contusion) and Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain). UNLV product Patrick Mccaw had 16 points, seven assists and four steals for Golden State.
■ At San Antonio, Lamarcus Aldridge had 33 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, which welcomed back Tony Parker. The veteran point guard had six points and four assists in 14 minutes in his first game since tearing his right quadriceps tendon onmay3intheplayoffs.
■ At Los Angeles, Lou Williams scored 42 points for the Clippers, who overcame an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit in their third straight win. Blake Griffin had 26 points for the Clippers before leaving with a knee injury in the closing minutes. Kentavious Caldwell-pope led the Lakers with 29 points.
■ At Philadelphia, Lebron James scored 22 of his 30 points in the first half and added 13 rebounds and six assists for Cleveland, which won its eighth straight. Joel Embiid had 30 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, which had won three in a row.
■ At Houston, James Harden scored 20 of his 37 points in the first quarter and added 10 rebounds and eight assists for Houston, which won its fifth straight. Chris Paul had a season-high 14 assists for the Rockets on his bobblehead night.
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At New York, Damian Lillard scored 32 points for Portland, which capped a 4-1 road trip with its third straight win. Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 points for New York, which lost its third straight — all without center Enes Kanter (back spasms).
■ At Indianapolis, Victor Oladipo scored 26 points and Bojan Bogdanovic 22 for Indiana, which went on a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and dealt Orlando its ninth straight loss.
Spurs 115, Mavericks 108 — Clippers 120, Lakers 115 — Cavaliers 113, 76ers 91 — Rockets 117, Nets 103 — Trail Blazers 103, Knicks 91 — Pacers 121, Magic 109 —