Cory Joseph scored 24 points and dished seven assists as the visiting Detroit Pistons held off a late Sacramento Kings push to win 113-101 Thursday.
Isaiah Stewart recorded 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for Detroit, which has alternated losses and wins over the past eight games. Sacramento took its fifth straight loss.
The Pistons capitalized on a poor shooting night from the Kings, who finished 7 of 30 (23.3 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. Detroit built a big first-half lead that gave it a cushion down the stretch.
Seven Pistons scored in double figures, including three off the bench. Rookie reserve Killian Hayes posted a career-high 11 points. Jahlil Okafor scored 11 points and hit all four of his foul shots, helping Detroit’s 17-of-20 success from the line as a team.
Hamidou Diallo added 10 points as the Pistons’ bench outscored the Kings reserves 43-31.
Saddiq Bey scored 12 points and Josh Jackson added 10 to round out Detroit’s double-figure scoring.
De’Aaron Fox finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Sacramento, but he shot 0 of 5 from 3-point range. Buddy Hield scored all 15 of his points from beyond the arc, going 5 of 12 from long distance.
Richaun Holmes scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Harrison Barnes finished with 13 points and Hassan Whiteside added 10. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton, coming off the bench for the first time since March 15, scored nine points and handed out seven assists.
A 10-0 run late in the second quarter helped the Pistons open a 20-point lead, and Detroit was on top by 18 at halftime.
The Kings trimmed the deficit to seven points with 2:01 remaining in the contest, but back-to-back Joseph baskets ignited a game-ending, 8-3 Detroit run.
Sacramento fell 2 1/2 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference, the final place in the postseason play-in tournament.
–Field Level Media