Andre Drummond's length-of-the-court heave could have thrown the streaking Toronto Raptors for a loop. They instead turned the game into a romp.
Unfazed by Drummond's improbable 71-foot 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, the Raptors outscored the Pistons 29-13 during the next 8:34 and pulled away to a 103-89 victory at The Palace yesterday.
That's the kind of confidence and poise that has allowed the Raptors to win 14 of their last 15 while taking over the second spot in the Eastern Conference.
"We're just all growing up. We're learning how to win at all times, in any situation," said the Raptors' All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, who led the way with 25 points and seven assists.
"That's why we've gotten into this little streak, into a rhythm, because we know what we need to do."
Small forward Terrence Ross scored 18 points off the bench for Toronto (35-16), while Lowry's backcourt partner, shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, added 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Reserve point guard Cory Joseph supplied 15 points, four rebounds and three assists and center Jonas Valanciunas contributed 15 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors.
The All-Star hosts have one more game remaining before the break, a road game at Minnesota on Wednesday.
"Like I just told them, the All-Star break doesn't start until Thursday. Let's don't start it [Tuesday]," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said.
"Let's come in, watch this film and continue the journey. It's about not getting caught up in the hype and whatever is being said. There's still a lot of growth to be had."
Lowry is doing whatever is necessary to keep his team rolling. He tied a career high with seven 3-pointers against Portland in Toronto's previous game. On Monday, he shot 9 for 14 from the field and held Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson to 13 points with six turnovers.
"He's playing like a true All-Star," Casey said. "We go the way he goes. His energy level, his physical play, his toughness - guys feed off of that.
"So we've got to continue to feed off him and take his lead but, as the season goes on, make sure we ramp his minutes back."
Power forward Ersan Ilyasova had 17 points and six rebounds for the Pistons (27-26), who have lost five of their last seven. Small forward Marcus Morris had 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals for Detroit. Drummond, the Pistons' center and All-Star representative, added 12 points and 13 rebounds.
The Raptors scored 22 points off of Detroit's 16 turnovers and shot 55.7% from the field.
"The turnovers hurt us and we had some defensive breakdowns but I thought we competed real hard," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said.
"I didn't think we made an inordinate amount of mistakes, particularly on the defensive end. What happened is every mistake we made on both ends, they made us pay for it."
Morris was the Pistons' best all-around player - he hounded DeRozan most of the way - but only squeezed off seven shots.
"They did two things," Van Gundy said. "They really loaded up on Reggie's pick-and-rolls and forced him into a lot of turnovers. I thought he was forcing the issue a little too much.
"And they came and doubled all of Marcus' postups. Their game plan was good and their execution of it was good."
Detroit's euphoria didn't last long after Drummond's fling cut Toronto's lead to 70-65. The Raptors opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run, capped by 3-pointers from Lowry and reserve power forward Patrick Patterson, to make it 81-67.
Toronto gradually built the lead to 21 while securing its second win over Detroit in the last two weeks.
Johnson hits game-winner
Forward Joe Johnson hit the game-winning 3-pointer with one-tenth of a second remaining and the Brooklyn Nets squandered a 16-point lead before pulling out a dramatic 105-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Johnson had been burned on a defensive switch when Denver forward Kenneth Faried put the Nuggets up 104-102 on a running jumper with 1.3 seconds remaining but atoned for it on the final possession.
Blazers beat Grizzlies in OT
Portland point guard Damian Lillard scored a game-high 33 points as the Trail Blazers defeated Memphis in overtime at FedExForum.
Lillard made 10 of Portland's 14 successful free throws on the night, including two late in overtime. The Trail Blazers outscored Memphis 10-4 in overtime. CJ McCollum finished with 21 points, six assists and three steals, and he scored six points in the overtime period.
Pelicans snap losing streak
New Orleans started its Mardi Gras celebration a few hours early, snapping a four-game losing streak by blitzing Minnesota.
Anthony Davis led the way with 27 points on 13-of-22 shooting as the Pelicans blew open a close game in the second quarter and never looked back. Guard Jrue Holiday came off the bench to add another 27 for the Pelicans. And forward Ryan Anderson scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for New Orleans.
Clippers rally to beat Sixers
Jamal Crawford and JJ Redick scored 23 points each, and DeAndre Jordan had four of his 12 in overtime as Los Angeles rallied to beat Philadelphia.
Chris Paul added 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Clippers, who trailed by 19 points in the first half and eight with six minutes left in regulation. They closed regulation on a 12-4 run, then scored the first eight points of the extra period. Jordan also had 21 rebounds and three blocked shots.
George helps Pacers past Lakers
Paul George scored seven of his 21 points during the final 1:11 and Indiana overcame a four-point deficit to defeat Los Angeles in Kobe Bryant's final appearance in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Lakers trailed 75-68 before a Bryant-led rally gave Los Angeles an 84-80 lead with 1:26 remaining. George, whose boyhood idol was Bryant, scored the next six points on three free throws and a three-point play to salvage a victory.
LeBron triple-doubles, Cavs win
LeBron James recorded his first triple-double of the season and Kyrie Irving matched his season high with 32 points in Cleveland's victory against reeling Sacramento.
James had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 40th career triple-double, while Irving matched a career high with 12 assists.
Kemba big as Hornets beat Bulls
With Chicago guard Derrick Rose a surprise late scratch from the lineup with "soreness all over," Charlotte leapt to a fast start and cruised to a victory over the Bulls behind Kemba Walker's 30 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Nicolas Batum added 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 20 points and seven rebounds as Charlotte climbed to .500 for the first time since January 4, when a seven-game losing streak plunged them to a losing record.
Magic win rematch
Beaten on a shot at the buzzer by Nikola Vucevic in Orlando on Sunday, the Hawks suffered an even more disheartening loss to the Magic in the rematch at Atlanta on Monday night.
Orlando, down by 20 points in the first quarter, forced overtime with a 13-point fourth-quarter comeback and defeated Atlanta behind 28 points and 12 rebounds from Vucevic.
Thunder beat Suns
Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Oklahoma City used a 15-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to begin to pull away for a victory over Phoenix.
Russell Westbrook added 29 for the Thunder, who were tied at halftime and trailed 85-80 with 1:19 left in the third quarter. They ended the period with a 9-0 run and scored the first six of the fourth quarter get some distance from the reeling Suns.
