The Detroit Pistons (11-17) couldn’t get it done tonight against the Toronto Raptors (19-8), losing at home to the defending champions 112-99. The Pistons welcomed back Andre Drummond (eye) and Blake Griffin (knee) after the pair missed their previous game against the Washington Wizards. The Raptors came into tonight’s match-up with Detroit winning three of their last four games. Even with the Pistons almost at full health, it wasn’t enough to stop the Raptors, who have now won four of their last five games.
The Pistons kept it close in the first quarter, only trailing the Raptors 30-29 at the end the first quarter after a three-point shot was made by Raptors rising star Pascal Siakam with 1.3 seconds left remaining. Before the quarter ended, Raptors center Marc Gasol injured his hamstring and was unable to return to the game. Andre Drummond led the Pistons in the first quarter with 10 points and six rebounds.
With 5:47 remaining in the second quarter, Pistons center Christian Wood went down with a left knee strain and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. The Raptors started to pull away late in the second quarter, taking a 62-55 lead with 2:13 left in the first half. The Pistons, down 70-64 at the half, allowed the most points at the half this season after allowing the Wizards to score 67 at the half in their previous game.
The Raptors opened the floodgates late in the third quarter, taking a 90-76 lead after a slam dunk by Raptors forward Serge Ibaka with 4:26 left in the quarter. The Raptors ended the third quarter on a 15-3 run and were up 96-79 to end the quarter. The Pistons showed life in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to single digits after an alley-oop dunk by Andre Drummond from Bruce Brown Jr. with just under four minutes remaining in the game. The Pistons weren’t able to stop the bleeding completely, as the Raptors were able to stop the Pistons from making a late run to keep their lead through the end of regulation.
Andre Drummond led the way for the Pistons in tonight’s defeat. He finished tonight’s game with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Derrick Rose scored 16 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out five assists. Blake Griffin finished with 15 points.
For the Raptors, it was Pascal Siakam leading the charge. Siakam finished tonight’s game with 26 points, five rebounds and four blocks to go with six triples. Raptors guard Kyle Lowry finished with a triple-double, scoring 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Pistons will have tomorrow off before facing the Boston Celtics on the road this Friday night at 7:30 pm.
