Tobias Harris scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and the Detroit Pistons pulled away for a 109-87 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Ronald Holland II and Daniss Jenkins chipped in 13 points apiece for Detroit (54-20), which won for the sixth time in its past seven games. Paul Reed added 12 points off the bench, and Jalen Duren notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Donte DiVincenzo led Minnesota (45-29) with 22 points and made five shots from beyond the arc. Rudy Gobert finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Julius Randle notched 11 points despite missing 11 of 13 shots from the field.
Detroit outscored Minnesota 60-43 in the second half to seal the victory.
The Pistons opened the second half on a 7-1 run to go ahead by double digits. Ausar Thompson made a layup to finish the run and put Detroit ahead 56-45 with 9:53 to go in the third quarter.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Detroit increased its lead to 14 points. Caris LeVert knocked down a pullup jump shot from 15 feet to make it 74-60 in favor of the Pistons.
The TImberwolves trailed by double digits for the duration of the fourth quarter. They fell behind by 20 points when Harris made a free throw with 6:04 to play.
The Pistons held on to a 49-44 advantage at the half.
Detroit led by as many as 13 points before the break. Duren made a pair of free throws to put the Pistons on top 37-24 with 9:40 remaining.
Minnesota responded with a 15-6 run to cut the deficit to 43-39 late in the half.
Both teams played without their top players. Anthony Edwards remained out for the Timberwolves because of inflammation in his right knee, and Cade Cunningham remained out for the Pistons as he recovers from a collapsed lung.
The Timberwolves also played without Jaden McDaniels (knee) and Ayo Dosunmu (calf). Terrence Shannon Jr. made his second career start in the backcourt.
–Field Level Media
