Talk about a comeback.
Down 13 points heading into the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Detroit Pistons went on a tear, outscoring Portland 41-11 for a 120-103 victory on Sunday night.
Reggie Jackson led the way with a career-high 40 points – including 26 in the fourth quarter alone – while Andre Drummond had 29 points and 27 rebounds.
“The funny thing is, when I was scoring I felt like we were scoring. I saw the ball going in the basket but I didn’t necessarily know it was myself putting the ball in there a lot,” Jackson said. “The team was just moving the ball, great screens which allowed me to get open, and I tried to be aggressive.”
It was the Pistons’ first win in Portland since 2007 and snapped a six-game overall losing streak to the Blazers.
“I’ve coached a long time and have never been part of a fourth quarter like that,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said.
Detroit’s 5-1 start is the best for the team since 2007/08.
Damian Lillard had 26 points and 11 rebounds and the Blazers’ modest three-game winning streak was snapped. CJ McCollum added 18 points.
The Blazers led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, but Detroit’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a three-pointer that closed the gap to 98-92 with 7:18 left.
Drummond’s layup pulled the Pistons within 98-96 and Jackson’s floater with 5:21 left tied it at 98. Jackson hit another to put the Piston’s in front with 4:46 left, and they never trailed again.
“I told him (Jackson) it was time for him to take over,” Drummond said. “I told him he needed to step it up and take over in this fourth quarter.”
Drummond, who came into the game leading the NBA with nearly 19 rebounds per game, has double-doubles in all six of Detroit’s games this season. It was his seventh career game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.
It was the second game of a six-game road trip for the Pistons. They won 100-92 at the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
The Blazers were coming off a 115-96 victory at home over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night. The dynamic backcourt of Lillard and McCollum combined for 47 points.
Going into the game, the duo were averaging a combined 49.5 points per game, second only to Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (57 points per game).
But even with a combined 44, they couldn’t overcome Detroit’s fourth-quarter surge.
“We’ve got to learn from it,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “We can’t back down when teams turn up the pressure. We’ve got to be aggressive, we’ve got to do things a little bit better.”
The Blazers pulled ahead 38-26 early in the second quarter after Noah Vonleh’s layup and McCollum’s jumper. Portland led by as many as 14 points en route to a 57-47 advantage at the half.
McCollum’s layup gave Portland a 75-57 layup in the third quarter. But Detroit closed within 94-85 on Marcus Morris’s running dunk.
Blazers forward Ed Davis was ejected with 8:01 left after he earned a pair of back-to-back technicals for arguing with officials.
Elsewhere in the NBA
New York Knicks 99, Los Angeles Lakers 95
Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and the New York Knicks spoiled what might have been Kobe Bryant’s last game at Madison Square Garden, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 99-95 on Sunday.
Bryant finished with 18 points, far off the 30.7 per game he had been averaging here and fewer than half the 40 or more he managed on three occasions during a series of highlights in the arena.
The 37-year-old superstar, who hasn’t said if he will retire after this season, missed two shots and twice fouled Anthony during New York’s 11-0 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 98-90 lead.
Jose Calderon, Robin Lopez and Langston Galloway all scored 14 points for the Knicks, who snapped a three-game losing streak with their first home victory of the season.
Cleveland Cavaliers 101, Indiana Pacers 97
LeBron James scored 29 points playing with a bruised quadriceps, and the Cavaliers beat the Pacers for their sixth straight win.
James took a knee to the leg Friday and said he would get round-the-clock treatment so he could play against the Pacers. The treatment paid off as James hit seven free throws down the stretch and found Kevin Love for two key baskets in the final 27 seconds.
Love scored 22 points and had 19 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who haven’t lost since the season opener against the Chicago Bulls.
Paul George scored 32 points for Indiana, who went scoreless for nearly four minutes after taking a 90-88 lead.
Miami Heat 96, Toronto Raptors 76
Chris Bosh scored 23 points, Hassan Whiteside added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Heat rolled in the second half to beat the Raptors.
Dwyane Wade scored 12 and Tyler Johnson added 10 for Miami, who outscored the Raptors 30-16 in the third and then put the game away with an 18-3 run in the fourth.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 17 for Toronto.
Including play-offs, it was the 250th consecutive home sellout for Miami.
Oklahoma City Thunder 124, Phoenix Suns 103
Kevin Durant had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and the Thunder beat the Suns to snap a three-game losing streak.
Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 13 assists and six rebounds, and Enes Kanter had 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting for the Thunder, who forced 23 turnovers and outrebounded Phoenix 52-33.
Eric Bledsoe had 28 points and 11 assists, Markieff Morris scored 19 points and TJ Warren added 17 for Phoenix, which lost for the third time in four games.
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