Detroit @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 10, 2017 ) Detroit 94, Toronto 116

A pair of teams coming off tough losses meet when the Toronto Raptors host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. The Pistons hit the road after a second-half letdown in a 118-107 loss to the Charlotte Hornets while the Raptors return home trying to avoid their first three-game slide of the season.

Detroit dropped five of its last seven games but each of those setbacks came on the road until Monday, when it surrendered 68 second-half points to the Hornets. "We've got to get back to defending or we're not going to win," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters. "That's what I told them after the game. It's not going to change if we don't guard. We're down people, we're not going to score 130 a game. The defense we are playing will not produce wins. If we keep defending like we defended today, we'll keep losing." Toronto had a furious rally fall short in a 127-125 loss to Golden State on Monday and could not find a way around the Philadelphia 76ers in a chippy contest on Monday. "We should be feisty, we should come out with a fighter's mentality," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "Teams challenge you, you've got to come out with spirit. I don't mind that at all, as long as you keep it under control and not lose your focus and not let officiating take us out of what we want to do."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, Sportsnet One (Toronto)

ABOUT THE PISTONS (22-20): Detroit allowed Charlotte to shoot 51.2 percent from the field and yielded at least 107 points in each of its last five losses. "I felt like we were a little too worried about the offensive end," shooting guard Avery Bradley told reporters after Monday's loss. "Guys aren't able to play the way they want to and making shots, and they're letting it dictate how they defend on the other end of the floor. We can't be like that as a team, we can't just have one or two guys defending, it's the entire team. We just have to be more consistent with it." Bradley hoisted the most shots for his team on Monday while going 6-of-19 from the floor and is shooting 37.8 percent from the field in seven games since returning from a groin injury.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (29-13): All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry returned on Monday after sitting out three games with a bruised tailbone and struggled to find his rhythm before being ejected in the final seconds after an altercation with Philadelphia rookie Ben Simmons. Lowry ended up 3-of-16 from the floor in 37 minutes and combined four assists with four turnovers. "I was terrible," Lowry, who finished with 13 points, told reporters. "That's part of the process. Gotta get better."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Raptors PG Delon Wright went 5-of-6 from 3-point range on Monday, three more than his total made 3-pointers over the previous five contests.

2. Pistons C Andre Drummond scored a season-low three points on 1-of-7 shooting Monday.

3. Toronto took three of four in the series last season, but Detroit's lone win came on the road 102-101 on Feb. 12.

PREDICTION: Raptors 115, Pistons 106