Pistons 115, 76ers 100
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Second-year center Andre Drummond poured in a career-high 31 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to power the Detroit Pistons past the slumping Philadelphia 76ers 115-100 on Sunday afternoon at The Palace.
Drummond's previous high was 29 points against Cleveland in April.
Point guard Brandon Jennings had 20 points and 12 assists for Detroit (7-10), which had a season high in points after losing two straight. Forward Josh Smith added 20 points and reserve guard Rodney Stuckey chipped in 17.
Detroit forward Greg Monroe was ejected with 10:15 remaining for picking up two second-half technical fouls. The Pistons, who never trailed, had their highest scoring half with 70 points as well as their first 40-point quarter.
Power forward Thaddeus Young had 24 points and small forward Evan Turner supplied 20 for the Sixers (6-12), who have lost eight of their last nine and seven straight on the road.
Detroit was deadly inside and out while jumping to a 40-25 first-quarter lead. The Pistons made all six of their 3-point tries while Drummond collected 12 points, all on layups, putbacks or dunks.
Jennings achieved his fifth double-double by halftime with 13 points and 11 assists. He had a 3-pointer, an assist on a Smith 3-pointer and two free throws in the last two minutes of the half to make it 70-46.
The Sixers turned up the pressure in the third quarter, forcing seven turnovers as they crept within 10. Philadelphia also used a Hack-A-Dre strategy, sending Drummond to the foul line with off-the-ball fouls. He made just three of 12 in the quarter before taking a breather. Turner then got hot from outside, making two 3-pointers in a 38-second span to cut Detroit's advantage to 92-82.
Drummond restored order in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, scoring nine points, including three free throws, to push the lead to 20, 105-85.
NOTES: Pistons reserve PG Will Bynum underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a left adductor strain. He missed his second straight game and seventh of the last nine. There is no timetable for his return. ... Philadelphia rookie SF Hollis Thompson made his first start and scored six points. ... The Sixers averaged 17.7 turnovers during their first 17 games, the second most in the NBA behind only Houston (18.5) Coach Brett Brown said a majority of them are coming on fast breaks. "There's a little privilege they deserve during the first four seconds of the shot clock when we're running," he said. "Once the ball crosses halfcourt, now's the time where we've got to man up and be smarter about where our passes go." ... The teams have a combined nine rookies on their rosters. ... Philadelphia PG Michael Carter-Williams' 223 points through the first 13 games of his career were the second most by a Sixers rookie. Allen Iverson had 287 points in that span during the 1996-97 season. ... Detroit plays two-time defending champion Miami twice during the next seven days.
