Jalen Duren had 21 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks and the visiting Detroit Pistons clinched a playoff berth with a 117-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points for the Pistons (43-34), who swept the four-game season series with Toronto (28-50). Malik Beasley scored 21, Ausar Thompson chipped in with 15 points, Marcus Sasser added 10 and Dennis Schroder had 16.
Ja’Kobe Walter scored 22 points for the Raptors. Jakob Poeltl had 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, Immanuel Quickley and Jamal Shead each scored 14 and Cole Swider scored 10.
The Pistons turned up the defensive intensity midway through a fast-paced first quarter and used a 12-0 run to take a nine-point lead. Detroit led 29-28 after one quarter.
Detroit bumped the lead to 11 on Hardaway’s corner 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the second quarter when Detroit kept possession after Toronto’s A.J. Lawson had blocked a shot. Lawson’s second block resulted in a sequence that finished when he hit a 3-pointer with 5:45 left in the half to trim the margin to four. Toronto pulled to within two before Detroit finished the first half with a 9-2 surge to lead 65-55.
Detroit used disruptive defense to score the first 11 points of the third quarter, helped by a Toronto turnover and a series of missed shots. Schroder’s 3-pointer with 8:32 remaining increased the margin to 22. Toronto struck back with three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Walter and one by Quickley to cut the lead to 12 with 5:18 to go. Schroder’s two turnovers contributed to the Toronto surge. Another Schroder turnover led to Walter’s steal and layup to reduce the lead to 10. Detroit pulled away to a 93-77 third-quarter lead after Hardaway hit a 29-foot 3-pointer to beat the buzzer.
Jared Rhoden’s running layup brought Toronto to within four points with 8:13 left in the fourth quarter. Detroit worked the lead to 10 with 5:32 left on Thompson’s dunk after Duren’s block helped subdue a scrappy Toronto effort.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham (calf), Tobias Harris (heel) and Isaiah Stewart (suspension) did not play.
Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett (rest) were out.
–Field Level Media
