The Sports Xchange
Dec 4, 2017
SAN ANTONIO -- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 points, including San Antonio's final six points of the game, and took 10 rebounds as the Spurs came from behind to beat the Detroit Pistons 96-93 on Monday at the AT&T Center.
Detroit led 86-82 with 4:42 to play before Patty Mills canned a long 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the circle to begin a 14-2 San Antonio run that granted the Spurs a 94-88 advantage with 1:51 remaining.
The Pistons then forged a final charge, getting to within 94-93 with 23.5 seconds left on a put-back by Andre Drummond. Aldridge then sank two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to increase San Antonio's lead to 96-93.
After a 30-second timeout, Detroit got the ball to Tobias Harris but his desperation 3-point attempt was partially blocked by Rudy Gay and was never close to the rim.
Seven San Antonio players scored in double figures as Pau Gasol hit for 15 (and had 10 rebounds), Gay and Manu Ginobili added 12 points and Danny Green, Patty Mills and Davis Bertans scored 11 points apiece for the Spurs (16-8).
Reggie Jackson led all scorers with 27 points, while Harris tallied 15, Stanley Johnson added 14 points and Ish Smith and Drummond racked up 11 points each for the Pistons (14-9), who have lost three straight games. Drummond added 15 rebounds and Johnson pulled down 10 for Detroit. Avery Bradley, who averages more than 16 points per game, missed his first seven shots and had just three points.
The Spurs had no answer for Jackson in the first half as he reeled off 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting as the Pistons built a 53-50 lead at halftime. The first half featured four ties and eight lead changes, with the biggest advantage being Detroit's eight-point lead early in the second quarter.
Aldridge (who missed six of his first eight shots) and Gasol led the Spurs with nine points each at intermission.
The Pistons led 73-69 after three quarters mostly because San Antonio missed 12 of its 20 shots in the third quarter and lost its aggressiveness, not shooting a single free throw in the period.
But all Detroit's good work was washed away by a Spurs' 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter as Ginobili and Bertans poured in 3-pointers and Gasol hit a bucket that gave San Antonio a 77-73 lead. The game was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way.
NOTES: San Antonio F Kawhi Leonard, who has not played this season because of a quad injury, met with the media on Monday for the first time since late September but had no specific update on his rehabilitation or when he might return to game action. Leonard said he is working in 5-on-5 drills and is progressing but provided little insight how the injury occurred or into the process he is using to get back to the court. ... Detroit has now lost seven of its past eight games in San Antonio. ... The Spurs didn't shoot a free throw in the second half until Rudy Gay converted a three-point play with 3:37 to play.