Spurs beat Detroit 106-91 to snap 5-game home skid
SAN ANTONIO >> Derrick White had 26 points, Jakob Poeltl added 17 points and 11 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 106-91 on Thursday night to snap a five-game home losing streak.
Detroit’s bench closed to 84-81 with 7:20 remaining but San Antonio went on a 13-1 run to seal the victory.
“When you do that, it adds to your experience,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Makes you feel a little more confident and you learn an NBA game is a long time, and you just have keep on trucking.”
Lonnie Walker added 18 points and Rudy Gay had 14 for San Antonio.
Josh Jackson had 29 points to lead Detroit. At 18-42, the Pistons have the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
The Spurs have won three of four to move into ninth in the Western Conference ahead of the Golden State Warriors. They would face
each other in the play-in tournament if the standings remain the same.
San Antonio swept the two-game series with Detroit, winning both by double digits.
The Pistons and Spurs were both short-handed Friday with less than a month remaining in the regular season.
Detroit was without
Wayne Ellington, Jerami Grant, Cory Joseph, Rodney McGruder, Mason Plumlee, Dennis Smith Jr. and Hamidou Diallo. Ellington and Plumlee sat out for rest and injuries sidelined the rest.
San Antonio was without DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray and Patty Mills, who were all late scratches to its lineup. Murray and Mills sat out for rest on the second night of a back-toback and DeRozan missed the game with a bruised right quadricep.
The Spurs dug deep into their bench and received a crisp and balanced effort with seven players scoring at least five points.
After shooting 40% from the field and 29% on 3-pointers in a 20-point loss to Miami on Wednesday, San Antonio shot 46% from both against Detroit.
The Spurs’ backups scored 33 points and committed just three turnovers.
The Pistons had 17 turnovers, which resulted in 22 points.
“The mistakes we made were fundamental mistakes,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “One-hand passes trying to squeeze it into places where it’s not. Just making some uncharacteristic non-fundamental passes and plays that a lot of young players make in this league.”
Frank Jackson finished with 14 points and Killian Hayes had 10 points and five assists.