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After Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, which player in the Detroit Pistons must deliver them to reach the playoffs? February 20, 2019.
Vince Ellis and Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press
Myles Turner is one of the most promising young men in the NBA.
André Drummond dominated the center game Monday night.
Drummond scored 26 points and 16 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons earn a 113-109 win over the Indiana Pacers at Little Caesars Arena.
Blake Griffin had a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was also 5-in-10 in the 3-point range since the Pistons (29-30) won eight out of 10 to take the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
Luke Kennard scored 19 points and the Pistons scored 18 of 41 points in a 3-point range (43.9%).
Domantas Sabonis beats Andre Drummond in the second quarter at LCA. (Photo11: Raj Mehta, USA Today Sports)
Drummond claimed dominance late in the game.
Turner caught the ball in the paint and seemed to free himself after a spinning motion. Drummond took the ball off the air.
Turner was looking for a goalkeeper, but Kennard missed the ball and a popular crowd applauded.
Drummond had three blocked shots and two interceptions.
Turner finished with seven points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Wayne Ellington scored 14 points on 4-on-10 shots in the 3-point range, his best match since joining the Pistons shortly before the All-Star NBA break.
The Pacers (40-21) are without guard Victor Oladipo for the season with a broken quad. The Pacers are 8-6 since losing their star.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pacers with 25 points and Domantas Sabonis added 23 points on the bench.
The game became chippy towards the end.
Griffin and Bogdanovic were beaten with technical faults after a light cleaning.
Thaddeus Young was hit with a Flagrant-1 for a hard shoulder in a rolling Drummond, which collapsed to the ground.
At the next Pacers' possession, Drummond and Young were called for technical details.
[ Andre Drummond to Zion Williamson: End Duke career ]
Fast rise
The Pistons invaded the Pacers in the first quarter.
Drummond was active on the defense and scored around the basket.
His flight and layup gave the Pistons a 9-2 lead.
A 3-pointer Griffin pushed his head to 17-8.
Kennard really ignited the sparse crowd.
He finished the quarter with three consecutive points at three points to push the Pistons' attack to 36-20 before the second quarter. The Pistons were 7 for 10 on 3 points in the first quarter.
Sabonis dominates
The Pistons had no answer for Sabonis in the second.
He started things with a short rider. A 17-foot crowbar reduced the deficit to 12. An offensive rebound brought the deficit back to 10. A quick decline reduced the deficit to eight.
Sabonis scored 12 points in the quarter, while Pistons center Zaza Pachulia struggled to contain the third-year striker.
Jon Leuer may have been a better option as he was quick, but Pistons coach Dwane Casey stayed with Pachulia in the second half.
Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @ vincent_ellis56. Learn more about Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.
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