Pistons rout short-handed 76ers 113-96

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - February 1, 2014

Greg Monroe added 21 points and 12 rebounds. He and Drummond combined to go 18 of 21 from the field. Brandon Jennings and Kyle Singler added 20 points apiece for Detroit.

Philadelphia was without rookie of the year candidate Michael Carter-Williams, who sat out with a sore right shoulder. Tony Wroten led the 76ers with 18 points.

Detroit owner Tom Gores was seated courtside. The Pistons have won back-to-back games at The Palace for the first time since their first two home games of the season. Detroit is 9-15 at home.

The Pistons signed Josh Smith and traded for Jennings in the offseason, but with the team still struggling, there's been talk that another move could be coming. Monroe has been at the center of that speculation, since Detroit has a logjam of frontcourt players - but he and Drummond were both outstanding Saturday, and Smith added nine points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Monroe and Drummond went a combined 9 for 9 in the first quarter, and Detroit led 32-22 after one.

Late in the second, Philadelphia's Evan Turner drew a foul on rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Turner appeared to flip the ball back at a group of players under the basket. Jennings responded by throwing the ball at Turner, and both he and the Philadelphia forward were hit with technical fouls.

The Pistons led 57-49 at halftime, and they broke the game open with a 16-2 run in the third quarter. Kyle Singler and Caldwell-Pope made back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 74-56, and another 3 by Singler capped the run and gave Detroit a 23-point lead.

The Pistons led by as many as 28. Drummond finished 10 of 11 from the field, and Monroe was 8 of 10.

Detroit was coming off a three-day layoff because its game at Atlanta on Wednesday was postponed because of bad weather in Georgia.

NOTES: The Pistons had 22 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the 76ers 57-44 overall. ... Philadelphia had 64 points in the paint to Detroit's 60. They entered as the top two teams in the NBA in that department. ... The Pistons are 3-0 against the 76ers this season. ... Philadelphia is 3-22 when held under 100 points this season.

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.