Pistons Race Past Blazers 111-91

The Portland Trail Blazers saw a disastrous road trip come to a merciful end Monday night in the Motor City, losing to the Detroit Pistons by a final score of 111-91. After the Pistons started to pull away late in the first half, Portland used a 10-0 run to get back in the game, and trailed by six at the half. It was all Pistons in the second half, however, who won their fourth straight.

Here are a few takeaways from tonight’s game:

• Dialing from distance. The Blazers and Pistons entered the game as the third and fourth ranked teams, respectively, in three-point shooting percentage. Detroit had the upper hand tonight, shooting an incredible 50% from long range.
• New team, same Blake. Blake Griffin, in just his third game in a Pistons uniform, had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He is averaging over 20 points and nine rebounds with the Pistons, who are 3-0 with him in the lineup.
• Mr. Clean. Newly minted All-Star Andre Drummond entered tonight’s game leading the league in rebounding with 15.3 per game. He finished the night with 17, in addition to 17 points, five assists and three blocks.
• Sharing the rock. The Pistons had 36 assists on 44 made baskets. Four players had five or more assists, with Ish Smith leading the charge with seven.
• Early thievery. The Blazers, who average 6.7 steals a game on the season, had seven in the first half alone. Unfortunately, they were unable to record a steal in the second half.

Box Score

Highlights

What’s Next

Portland hosts the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday at Moda Center. Stay tuned for more analysis on tonight’s game from Blazer’s Edge.