Trail Blazers-Pistons Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Nov 25 2012 9:08PM

The Detroit Pistons have lost 12 straight to Western Conference opponents, but could be catching a break in their bid to end that skid.

The Portland Trail Blazers may be without All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge as they visit the Pistons on Monday night.

Aldridge, averaging 19.7 points and 5.8 rebounds, missed his first game Sunday when he sat out a 98-85 loss at Brooklyn with a stiff back. Portland (6-7) was competitive throughout a contest that was tied after three quarters before falling to 2-4 on the road.

"To be without our best player and come to Brooklyn and then have a chance down the stretch. Just to be in that position without LaMarcus says a lot about our team," rookie guard Damian Lillard said.

There is no word on Aldridge's status for Monday. He received pre-game treatment from the training staff and was in uniform, but rookie Meyers Leonard received his second start.

The big man averaged 24.8 points and 7.7 rebounds during a six-game win streak over the Pistons (3-11), who snapped that slide in the series with a 94-91 win Jan. 21 in the lone matchup last season. Aldridge led Portland with 25 points while Rodney Stuckey scored a game-high 28 for Detroit.

That was a rare victory for the Pistons over a West foe. Detroit went 5-13 against Western opponents in 2011-12 before losing their first eight to the other conference this season.

While Portland took positives from its Sunday defeat in the New York area, that wasn't the case for the Pistons in their 121-100 road loss the Knicks on Sunday. Detroit fell behind 64-44 at halftime and finished with 19 turnovers.

"How many minutes of defense did we play? I don't know, but I know it's not nearly good enough to do and we've got to take care of the ball," coach Lawrence Frank said.

Brandon Knight, who made the winning layup in Friday's 91-90 victory over Toronto, matched a season high with 21 points and Charlie Villanueva added a season-best 17.

None of that mattered as the Pistons allowed the Knicks to make 17 3-pointers - the second-highest total yielded by the club over the last 26 seasons.

"We have to give a better effort as far as not giving up those 3s," Knight said. "That's what they do best, that's what we came into the game trying to do. We did a poor job defensively."

Knight will get his first chance to match up with Lillard, who leads all rookies in scoring at 19.6 points per game. Lillard, thrust into a leadership role for Portland, had a poor effort Sunday with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

"I think we have multiple leaders on the team," Lillard said. "I wouldn't say that I am the leader of the team. There are times when something needs to be said and I will say it, but we have multiple guys on our team that lead."

Wesley Matthews scored 20 points and J.J. Hickson had 19 and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who were outrebounded 48-34 without Aldridge.

Knight leads Pistons to 108-101 win over Portland

By NOAH TRISTER
Posted Nov 26 2012 11:45PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Brandon Knight outplayed Damian Lillard in a matchup of young guards - and had plenty of help from a couple of unexpected contributors.

Knight scored 26 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 108-101 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Detroit had seven players score in double figures, including Kyle Singler with 16 points and Charlie Villanueva with 10.

Singler was a second-round draft pick in 2011 and spent last season in Spain. Villanueva played in only three of Detroit's first 13 games this season, but he's scored 27 points in the last two.

"We had four possessions that resulted in a score where all five guys touched the ball," coach Lawrence Frank said. "To have seven guys in double figures and to have a bunch of guys with multiple assists, that's great."

Eight Detroit players had at least two assists.

Lillard entered the day as the NBA's top rookie scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game. He missed his first 12 shots from the field against the Pistons.

Detroit is 4-3 since dropping its first eight games. The Pistons won for the first time when allowing more than 90 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge was back in the lineup for Portland after missing a game with back spasms. He scored 32 points but didn't have enough help with Lillard struggling.

"I thought we were going to win that game, but every time we got close, they made another play," Aldridge said. "I know we can do better than this - we shouldn't keep getting off to slow starts and playing this kind of defense. I don't know how to fix it."

Lillard finished with 12 points on 4-of-18 shooting.

"We were playing against one of the better rookies in the NBA, Damian Lillard, who has been playing very well," Knight said. "Even though LaMarcus scored high tonight, he had to work for everything he got."

Knight shot 9 of 17 from the field. The Pistons shot 52.5 percent, leading 54-49 at halftime and 82-73 after Singler's last-second 3-pointer in the third quarter.

Detroit went 9 of 15 from 3-point range and eclipsed its previous season high of 106 points.

Greg Monroe had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit, and Singler had 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds.

"Kyle, I thought, was outstanding, playing a very, very complete game," Frank said. "Defensively, he was very, very solid; ran the floor extremely well, passed the ball well, rebounding."

The Pistons led 75-64 in the third after Jason Maxiell's dunk. Maxiell caught Portland's Jared Jeffries in the face with his left arm while dunking with his right, sending Jeffries down the tunnel injured.

Lillard followed with an acrobatic layup for his first field goal of the game. That started a 7-0 run that turned out to be Portland's best push of the second half.

After Singler's shot gave the Pistons a nine-point lead, rookie Andre Drummond dunked on a fast break early in the fourth to put Detroit ahead 87-75. A three-point play by Rodney Stuckey made it 93-78.

Portland did get the margin down to six on Nicolas Batum's 3-pointer with 1:14 remaining, but Knight answered with a quick three-point play to make it 104-95.

"Lillard is their leading scorer and I thought Brandon did a very good job with the matchup of making everything very, very hard," Frank said. "I thought Brandon had a tremendous floor game."

NOTES: Jeffries was being evaluated after the game. ... Both teams were playing the second of back-to-back games after losing in the New York area Sunday. Detroit lost 121-100 to the Knicks, and Portland fell 98-85 to the Nets. ... Aldridge shot 12 of 22 from the field and had 10 rebounds. ... Detroit outscored Portland 56-36 in the paint.

Notebook: Pistons 108, Blazers 101

Dana Gauruder, For NBA.com
Posted Mon Nov 26, 2012 11:05 PM - Updated Mon Nov 26, 2012 11:05 PM

THE FACTS: Detroit's second-year point guard, Brandon Knight, outplayed Portland rookie sensation Damian Lillard as the Pistons downed the Trail Blazers 108-101 Monday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Knight had a season-high 26 points while holding Lillard to 12, tying his season low, on 4-for-18 shooting. Greg Monroe had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Pistons (4-11) won their third straight home game. LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 32 points for the Blazers(6-8), who lost for the second time in as many days at the start of a seven-game road swing.

QUOTABLE: "You always want to take care of your home court. When teams come here, they have to know they're going to be in for a fight and play close to a perfect game to come out with a win."

-- Brandon Knight

THE STAT: 26. The Pistons had 26 assists, one shy of their season high, as their ball movement led to 52.5 percent shooting. It wasn't just the point guards who kept the ball moving. Eight different players had at least two and no one had more than five.

TURNING POINT: The Pistons squandered double-digit leads in all of its home losses this season, and needed to rally after giving away a 13-point lead to Orlando in their last home game. They seemed headed in that direction again when Portland went on a 7-0 run late in the third, cutting their advantage to four points. Detroit instead went on a 7-2 run to finish the quarter, including a 3-pointer by Kyle Singler in the final second to make it 82-73. Three-pointers by Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva early in the fourth pumped the lead up to 13, and the Blazers never got closer than six the remainder of the game.

QUOTABLE II: "His energy level has been very, very high. Brandon has a great spirit and, when he plays with that spirit, you can see and feel it. That's something that's uplifting to the team. That's an intangible and it's important he plays with that every single day."

-- Pistons coach Lawrence Frank on Knight

HOT: Villanueva, who scored 17 points after being inserted into the rotation Sunday at New York, had 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench for Detroit. Villanueva has replaced Jonas Jerebko, who was in a shooting slump.

NOT: Lillard didn't score his first field goal until late in the third quarter. He also committed three turnovers while being harassed by Knight and Stuckey in his worst outing of his young career.

ROOKIE WATCH: Singler has his best night of the season, recording his first double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The point total tied his season best and his rebounding total doubled his previous best. He also added a career high five assists.

NOTABLE: Detroit averted tying its worst start in franchise history after 15 games. It went 3-12 in three previous seasons: 1962-63, 1980-81 and last season. ... The Trail Blazers had won six of their last seven against the Pistons. ... Portland forward Jared Jeffries suffered a cut on his nose in the second half. ... Blazers forward Nicolas Batum had just seven points and has made just four of his last 20 3-point attempts. ... Detroit's point total was a season high.

UP NEXT: For the Trail Blazers, Wednesday @ Washington, Friday @ Boston, Saturday @ Cleveland. For the Pistons, Wednesday vs. Phoenix, Friday @ Memphis, Saturday @ Dallas.

• Trail Blazers: Claver, Williams
• Pistons: Kravtsov, Middleton

• Trail Blazers: Matthews
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #47 Bennie Adams, #34 Kevin Cutler
• Attendance: 10212
• Duration: 2:16