DETROIT (AP) — Jalen Duren had a career-high 23 rebounds along with 24 points and five assists as the Detroit Pistons won three of four games for the first time in nearly two years, beating the Toronto Raptors 113-104 on Wednesday.
Detroit, which trailed by 16 points in the second quarter, hadn’t won three of four since late in the 2021-22 season — a stretch of 145 games.
Duren posted his second game this season with at least 20 points, 20 boards and five assists. Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis are the only other players with two this season.
Cade Cunningham added 19 points for Detroit, which had six players score in double figures. The Pistons have the second-worst record in the league, one game ahead of Washington.
Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points for Toronto, which matched a season high by losing five straight. Former Piston Kelly Olynyk scored 19.
The Raptors led 57-52 at halftime but only scored 22 points in the third. That allowed Detroit to take an 83-79 lead on Stanley Umude’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Pistons continued to play good defense, holding Toronto to two points on 1-of-8 shooting in the first five minutes of the fourth. A pair of 3-pointers by Marcus Sasser put Detroit ahead 100-87 with 4:26 left, and the
never challenged down the stretch.
Toronto started the second quarter with a 26-5 run, with nine players contributing points. Cunningham and Duren combined to go 6 of 10 in the quarter, but the rest of the team shot 1 of 14.
