Pistons 108, Trail Blazers 101
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Second-year guard Brandon Knight scored a season-high 26 points as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 108-101 at The Palace Monday night.
Knight's backcourt partner, rookie Kyle Singler, had his first double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Greg Monroe contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Pistons (4-11) won their third straight home game. Detroit, which had seven players in double figures while scoring a season high, avoided tying its worst start in franchise history after 15 games.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed Portland's game at Brooklyn Sunday with back spasms, poured in a season-high 32 points, but the Trail Blazers (6-8) lost for the second straight day. Rookie Damian Lillard missed his first 12 shots and finished with 12 points, equaling his season low.
Lillard finally broke his field-goal drought late in the third quarter with a layup and quickly added a 3-pointer, sparking a 7-0 run that cut Detroit's lead to four. Singler pushed the lead back to nine, 82-73, in the final second of the quarter on a 3-pointer.
Charlie Villanueva increased the Pistons' lead to 13, 90-77, with a 3-pointer. Portland, now 0-2 on its seven-game road trip, never got closer than six the rest of the way.
Knight and Singler carried Detroit to a 54-49 halftime lead. Knight had 16 first-half points, including three 3-pointers, while Singler racked up eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals before the break.
All of Knight's first-half 3-pointers came in the second quarter after the Trail Blazers erased a nine-point deficit. The last one gave the Pistons a 48-45 advantage, and he increased the lead to five with a scoop shot.
Singler sparked the Pistons' fast break, as all of his assists came in transition, including a feed to Monroe for a layup late in the half. Singler's rebounding was an even bigger bonus, as he hadn't grabbed more than five prior to Monday.
Overall, the Pistons shot 55.3 percent before halftime, which wasn't a big surprise. The Blazers entered the game second to last in the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage.
Aldridge kept the Blazers within striking distance with 15 first-half points.
NOTES: Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey played despite a sprained left ankle suffered against New York on Sunday. ... Detroit got off to a 3-12 start in three previous seasons -- 1962-63, 1980-81 and last season. ... The Trail Blazers had won six of their last seven against the Pistons. ... Villanueva, the Pistons' third-highest paid player at $8 million, is back in the rotation after being buried on the bench all of last season and the first 13 games this year. Villanueva scored 17 points in New York. "We have four guys that are very good at that position, and not all of them can play," coach Lawrence Frank said.
