The Thunder rested All-Star small forward Kevin Durant and power forward Serge Ibaka after defeating the Toronto Raptors on Monday. Oklahoma City scored at least 110 points throughout the streak, but it shot 37.8 percent against Detroit without the two starters.
Tobias Harris had 17 points, and Andre Drummond supplied 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Detroit (40-35) moved into seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of the Indiana pacers, who lost to the Chicago Bulls.
Russell Westbrook, who recorded his eighth triple-double of the month against the Raptors, shot 8-for-28 from the field while scoring 24 points against the Pistons. He added four rebounds and six assists. Enes Kanter finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City (52-23).
The teams combined for 35 turnovers, 19 by the Thunder.
Oklahoma City scored just nine third-quarter points -- its lowest scoring quarter of the season -- as Detroit grabbed a double-digit lead. The Thunder shot 3-for-20 and committed seven turnovers during the quarter.
The game took a sudden turn with the Thunder leading 51-48 early in the third period. Morris made a layup to set off a 20-2 Pistons run. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who missed his first eight field-goal attempts, put the Pistons on top with a steal and layup.
Morris also hit three consecutive jumpers during that outburst, and Caldwell-Pope finished it off with two free throws. That made it 68-53, and Detroit carried a 71-57 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Thunder's previous low for a quarter was 11 points against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 15.
Detroit failed to score for the first 3:51 of the fourth, allowing the Oklahoma City to pull within eight.
A Kanter 3-pointer made it a one-point game, but Oklahoma City couldn't finish off the comeback. Reggie Jackson's dunk with 1:29 left extended Detroit's lead to 82-77.
Jackson (13 points) sealed the victory with four free throws.
Westbrook overcame a slow start to ring up 16 points by halftime as the Thunder led 48-46 at the break.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
