Smith, Drummond carry Pistons over Heat
Ish Smith had 25 points and seven assists, Andre Drummond notched the 19th 20-20 game of his career with 23 points and 20 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons won their third straight game by defeating the Miami Heat 111-107 on Saturday.
Drummond also had four steals and four blocks. Blake Griffin struggled with his shooting in his second game with Detroit, going 6-for-19 from the field, but still finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Griffin was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
Anthony Tolliver, Langston Galloway and Stanley Johnson added 13 points apiece for the Pistons, who are 3-0 in their six-game homestand.
Gorac Dragic poured in 33 points for the Heat. Kelly Olynyk and Josh Richardson contributed 19 points each and James Johnson tossed in 18 for Miami, which lost at Philadelphia 103-97 on Friday.
Detroit overcame 17 turnovers, compared to 11 by the Heat. The Pistons shot 52.4 percent from the field while Miami connected on 48.4 percent of its shots.
Miami’s starting center, Hassan Whiteside, missed the game with an illness. Detroit’s bench was depleted by the absences of rookie guard Luke Kennard (foot) and Dwight Buycks (illness).
Smith scored 16 first-half points as Detroit led 54-50 at halftime. Drummond also reached his double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Dragic scored 15 third-quarter points, giving Miami a 77-76 edge. The Pistons got on a roll at the start of the fourth, going on an 8-0 run in the first two minutes. Galloway made a jumper, and Drummond supplied a putback and a layup sandwiching a Tolliver dunk.
The Heat reeled off seven unanswered points midway through the quarter to tie it at 93-all. Wayne Ellington’s 3-pointer with 4:16 left gave Miami a 99-96 lead. Stanley Johnson’s three-point play moved Detroit back in front 101-99.
Drummond’s dunk in transition off a Griffin feed made it 105-101. Griffin’s first points of the second half, a three, gave Detroit a seven-point lead. A Smith 3-pointer clinched the Detroit win.
--Field Level Media