AUBURN HILLS: If the Detroit Pistons had played defense like this all season, their chances of making the playoffs might not look so remote.
Josh Smith scored 24 points and Rodney Stuckey added 23, and the Pistons held Sacramento to 11 points in the third quarter in a 99-89 victory over the Kings yesterday. “I thought our bigs were tremendous in pick-and-roll tonight,’’ Detroit interim coach John Loyer said.
Andre Drummond added 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, outscoring DeMarcus Cousins in a matchup of two of the NBA’s top young big men. Cousins had 13 points and 14 rebounds but shot 5 of 15 from the field.
Kevin Durant scored 42 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the Houston Rockets. It was Durant’s 11th 40-point game of the season.
After the Rockets trailed by 18 at one point, guard James Harden led Houston on a run to cut the Thunder lead to five points with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter.
Tony Parker scored 16 of his 20 points in the first quarter as the San Antonio Spurs turned a fast start into victory over the Chicago Bulls. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 22 points and forward Kawhi Leonard added 16.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was able to give his starters a rest for much of the second half.
Guard D J Augustin led Chicago with 24 points while guard Jimmy Butler added 23 points. Marc Gasol scored 19 points with nine rebounds and seven assists while power forward Zach Randolph scored 18 points with 12 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trail Blazers.
Reuters
