AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The San Antonio Spurs made an under-the-radar move when they signed free agent Dewayne Dedmon to a two-year contract last summer.

Matched up against one of the NBA's most dangerous centers, Dedmon was hard to ignore on Friday night.

Dedmon had a season-high 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and the Spurs never trailed while rolling to a 103-92 victory over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace.

Dedmon was one point shy of matching his career high in points, which he set last season as a member of the Orlando Magic.

"He hit the boards hard, he ran the floor, his energy, his aggressiveness, his defense -- he was fantastic in that regard," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Filling in for injured Pau Gasol, Dedmon has collected three double-doubles in the past five games.

That's solid production from an undrafted fourth-year player playing on a modest two-year, $6 million deal.

"J.B. (assistant coach James Borrego) was really high on him, thought he was just a young colt," Popovich said. "He's just learning the game, really. (Borrego) certainly was right. He's been real important to us all year."

Dedmon had eight points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter, setting the tone for the game. His Detroit counterpart, Andre Drummond, who racked up 24 points and 17 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers two nights earlier, missed his first eight shots.

"I was definitely trying to be aggressive and stop Drummond on the glass, trying to stop him from getting going offensively," Dedmon said. "He eats off the glass with offensive rebounds, so I was just trying to slow him down."

Kawhi Leonard had 32 points, six rebounds and five assists and LaMarcus Aldridge recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio (41-12), which improved to 2-1 in its eight-game rodeo road trip.

Danny Green tossed in 12 points, David Lee chipped in 11 with seven rebounds off the bench, and Tony Parker dished out 12 assists for the Spurs.

Tobias Harris led seven Pistons in double figures with 16 points. Ish Smith had 15 points, Drummond tossed in 12 points with 15 rebounds and Reggie Jackson added 12 points for Detroit (25-29).

"We really lost it mentally and gave into frustration at the end of the second quarter," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "That was when the game was decided."

Leonard was his usual steady self in the first half, scoring 15 points as the Spurs cruised to a 60-41 halftime lead.

"We had a lot of assists (17) in the first half," Popovich said. "The ball moved well, better than it did in the second half. That was nice to see. Everybody got involved. That was one of our best halves we've played all year."

Dedmon notched his fourth double-double of the season by halftime with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

"He played with a lot of energy, went hard to the boards and offensively, we were finding him," Parker said. "He was running hard to the basket and that's what they were giving us, so we went to it a lot."

San Antonio finished the half on a 19-6 run, which included two of Green's four 3-pointers before the break.

"You look back on the game, that was the biggest stretch, where they expanded the lead and imposed their will on us as a team," Harris said. "Those are tough to come back from."

The Spurs' lead remained in double digits throughout the second half. Leonard scored 10 more points in the third, which ended with San Antonio on top 83-66.

Detroit crept within 13 at 85-72 on a Drummond dunk but Aldridge quickly answered with two buckets. The Pistons hung around and got their deficit down to 10 at 95-85 with 5:25 remaining on Drummond's fast-break dunk.

Leonard responded with a 3-pointer and Detroit couldn't get closer than 11 the rest of the way.

NOTES: San Antonio already clinched a winning road record for an NBA-record 20th consecutive season. ... The Spurs have four of the league's top 30 shooters in 3-point percentage. ... Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy doesn't have any special feelings playing in The Palace for the final season. The Pistons are moving to downtown Detroit next season. "I have a hard time getting nostalgic about steel and bricks, things like that," he said. "People, I can get nostalgic about. I have a hard time getting teary-eyed about a building." ... San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said C Pau Gasol would not return until after the All-Star break. He is recovering from a fractured finger. ... The Pistons entered the game averaging 114.8 points over their last eight home games after averaging 98.8 points in their first 18 home outings.