The Pistons came out of the gates sloppy in this one, as they went down 11-3 early in the first quarter. However, back-to-back triples by Singler and Caldwell-Pope kept this game from getting out of hand in the first frame.
The Blazers boasted the league's second best record at 16-4 coming into tonight's matchup against the struggling Pistons, who can't seem to piece together a win. Their last win came over a month ago against a Thunder team missing Westbrook and Durant, and they will continue to search for any victory they can get here in the 2014 season.
Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings continues to struggle, as he scored just one point to go with six assists and three turnovers. The spark for Detroit was off the bench, as Caron Butler dropped 13 points and forward Greg Monroe chipped in 22 points and 10 boards. Big man Andre Drummond had 10 points and 15 rebounds, but struggled from the field, shooting just 3-of-12 from the field for the night.
Wesley Matthews began to heat up in the second half, as the Blazers took a 17-point lead late in the third quarter. Matthews scored 19 points, nine of which came off his three makes from downtown. Chris Kaman provided a spark in the first half, as he came off the bench to drop 10 points off of 5-for-6 shooting. The Blazers had pretty balanced scoring, but their high man was power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who dropped 23 points to go with his 11 boards.
The Pistons gashed Portland's 17-point lead early in the final frame, as they used a 13-0 run to pull within four points of the Blazers. Monroe scored back-to-back hoops to make the score 81-77, but Aldridge would answer with a pair of his own buckets, and the Pistons would never get close again. Butler and Monroe combined for 16-of-36 from the field, but the rest of the team was just 17-of-49.
The Pistons will travel to take on the Suns on Friday at 9:00 PM EST, while the Blazers will travel to take on the Bulls, also on Friday, but at 7:00 PM EST.
NBA VAVELPortland Trail Blazers Continue To Dominate Eastern Conference Foes, Defeat Detroit Pistons, 98-86
The Pistons tailspin continues as they have lost their 13th straight game, this time at the hands of big men Chris Kaman and LaMarcus Aldridge.
