National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Detroit 126, Denver 109
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 8, 2014
Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #11 Derrick Collins, #72 J.T. Orr
Attendance: 15870

Pistons 126, Nuggets 109: Brandon Jennings racked up 35 points and 12 assists as host Detroit outgunned Denver to prevail for the second time in as many nights.

Josh Smith added 30 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals as the Pistons shot 51 percent from the field. Rodney Stuckey scored 19 points in a reserve role while Andre Drummond added 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Randy Foye's 25 points led the Nuggets, who lost point guard Ty Lawson to a lower back strain in the second quarter. Wilson Chandler had 20 points while J.J. Hickson contributed 15 points and 16 boards.

Detroit fell behind by double digits before the game was 3 1/2 minutes old, but chipped away at the deficit before getting back-to-back layups from Stuckey and Jennings to lead 30-29 after one quarter. Smith took over from there, making his first four shot attempts of the second frame while Kyle Singler and Drummond added back-to-back dunks later in the quarter and Smith added one of his own to send the Pistons into the break ahead 65-61.

Lawson's absence ground the Denver offense to a halt in the third quarter, allowing the Pistons to go ahead by double digits on Drummond's layup and fend off a late Nuggets rally to lead 97-86 going into the fourth. Denver chopped a 14-point deficit down to six with 7:16 remaining, but Stuckey hit a 19-footer from the right, added a layup just over a minute and a half later and put the game out reach with a mid-range jumper with 2:27 left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit, which came into the night as the NBA leader in points in the paint (51.7 per game), finished with 66 against the Nuggets. ... Hickson had the highlight of the opening half, taking a pass from Lawson at full speed and throwing down a one-handed jam over Drummond. ... Denver shot 15-of-33 from 3-point range.
Top Game Performances
 
Denver   Detroit
Randy Foye 25 Scoring Brandon Jennings 35
Ty Lawson 7 Assists Brandon Jennings 12
J.J. Hickson 16 Rebounds Andre Drummond 15
Timofey Mozgov 3 Free Throws Made Brandon Jennings 7
Jordan Hamilton 1 Steals Josh Smith 4
Timofey Mozgov 2 Blocks Andre Drummond 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Denver 109 46.6 15-33 12-22 24 47 5 4 20
Detroit 126 51.0 8-20 18-23 28 40 5 11 10
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Pistons have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against Indiana. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.