AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Andre Drummond had 23 points and 18 rebounds and Reggie Jackson added 19 points and nine assists, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 115-90 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.
Drummond came out with just over three minutes to play, narrowly missing his sixth 20-20 game of the season. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 22 points for the Pistons, who had lost three in a row.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Andrew Wiggins had 21 points. Minnesota was coming off a 94-80 victory over Utah on Wednesday night.
The Pistons got off to another of the slow starts that have angered coach Stan Van Gundy for the last several games, trailing 22-15 at the end of the first quarter.
But they bounced back in the second, holding Minnesota to 26.1 percent shooting while outscoring the Timberwolves 30-15 for the quarter. Drummond and Jackson then used the high pick-and-roll to hurt Minnesota in the third.
Late in the quarter, the Timberwolves resorted to the usual technique of intentionally fouling Drummond. He missed two foul shots, dropping him to 1 for 7 on the night, and was quickly replaced by Aron Baynes.
Detroit had a 78-70 lead after three, and Anthony Tolliver and Stanley Johnson hit 3-pointers to help increase the advantage to 87-72 with 10:30 left.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: With Minnesota playing for the second time in 22 hours, Kevin Garnett was given the night off. Gorgui Dieng replaced him in the starting lineup, with Damjan Rudez picking up extra minutes off the bench.
Pistons: Brandon Jennings received a long ovation from the crowd when he entered late in the first quarter. Because of his Achilles’ tendon injury in January, it was his first appearance in a home game in 11 months and 10 days. He finished with seven points, six rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host Milwaukee on Saturday.
Pistons: Visit Indiana on Saturday.
PARTISAN CROWD
Palace crowds usually tend to favor Michigan State over Michigan, but the balance was tilted Thursday with a lot of Spartans fans staying home to watch the football team in the Cotton Bowl. At halftime, the Palace showed FOX Sports 1’s countdown of the 10 best plays of 2015, and Michigan State’s last-second win at the Big House was loudly booed.