Auburn Hills, MI – Brandon Knight scored 26 points and Greg Monroe netted 20 with 10 rebounds, as the Detroit Pistons downed the Portland Trail Blazers, 108-101, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Kyle Singler totaled 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and was one of seven Pistons scoring in double figures in their first win against a Western Conference opponent this season.
Detroit has four victories in its last seven games following a brutal 0-8 start.
"I thought we started off well...and sustained it for four quarters," Singler said. "Multiple guys played great. It was good to see."
LaMarcus Aldridge, who sat out Sunday's loss to the Nets with a stiff back, led Portland with 32 points and 10 boards. Damian Lillard missed his first 12 shots from the field and finished with 12 points and seven assists in defeat.
Portland trailed by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, but made one last run to pull within two possessions. Lillard converted a three-point play, J.J. Hickson put back a miss and Nicolas Batum drained a 3-pointer to make it a 101-95 game.
But after a Pistons timeout with 1:14 remaining, Knight drove the lane and was fouled. The bucket and free throw, followed by Batum's missed triple and Monroe's dunk, all but sealed the outcome.
Monroe's layup capped a 10-0 run for a 15-6 lead midway through the opening quarter, and the Pistons maintained the nine-point advantage, 28-19, heading to the second.
"We have to stop getting off to slow starts," Aldridge said. "We have to figure something out."
The Blazers erased the deficit and went in front, 36-35, on an Aldridge three- point play, but Knight scored 11 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the half to keep the hosts in front, 54-49, at halftime.
Despite Aldridge keeping Portland close with 12 third-quarter points, Detroit carried an 82-73 lead into the fourth thanks to Singler's buzzer-beating 3- pointer.
Game Notes
The Pistons were 0-8 against the West this season and had lost 12 straight against the conference dating back to last season ... Jason Maxiell and Rodney Stuckey each scored 11 points, while Tayshaun Prince and Charlie Villanueva had 10 apiece to round out Detroit's high scorers ... Wesley Matthews donated 19 points for the Blazers, who were outscored in the paint, 56-36 ... The Blazers have lost two straight to open their seven-game road trip.
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