Cory Joseph had a season-high 22 points and five assists, and the host Detroit Pistons snapped an 11-game losing streak by defeating the Indiana Pacers 117-97 on Monday night.
Detroit, which led by as much as 31 points, avenged a 121-115 home loss to the Pacers on Saturday. The Pistons’ last victory came on Feb. 10, when they edged San Antonio in double overtime.
The Pistons had seven players score in double figures. James Wiseman went for 18 points and 14 rebounds and Rodney McGruder also scored 18 points. Eugene Omoruyi, making his first start for Detroit, had 17 points, while R.J. Hampton contributed 15.
Jalen Duren (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Killian Hayes (10 points, 11 assists) added double-doubles.
Reserve Jordan Nwora had 20 points to lead the Pacers. Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and seven assists, while Aaron Nesmith added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Pistons earned their largest first-quarter lead of the season, roaring to a 38-20 advantage behind Omoruyi’s 11 points and Hayes’ seven assists. Detroit finished the quarter with a 17-3 run with Omoruyi scoring six of those points.
The Pistons didn’t let up when the second quarter began. They pushed the lead to 31 points with a 19-4 run behind Joseph, who had eight points and an assist in that span.
Indiana finished the first half on a 13-2 run to pull within 18 at 67-49. Nembhard had seven points and an assist in that stretch. Detroit had four scorers in double figures by the break while Nembhard (15 points) was the only Indiana player to reach double digits.
The Pacers also scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half to pull within 12. Detroit answered with a 13-0 outburst, which included two 3-pointers from Joseph and five points from McGruder.
Detroit’s lead was still 23, 91-68, when the quarter ended. Indiana couldn’t get closer than 16 points in the fourth.
–Field Level Media
