Spurs at Pistons final score: Detroit outlasts San Antonio, 109-100
By Brad Rowland
It wasn’t exactly the “full” version of the San Antonio Spurs on the floor during Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons, but any time you can rise up and knock off the defending Western Conference champions, it’s a big win.
Detroit forced 19 turnovers on the defensive end and did just enough offensively to grab a 109-100 win over San Antonio, and it was an across-the-board effort. Six players scored in double-digits for the Pistons, and if you lowered the threshold to just 8 points, eight different guys reached that mark. Brandon Jennings led the way for Detroit with 21 points and 6 assists, while reserve guard Rodney Stuckey emerged from the bench with 20 points in just 28 minutes.
Up front, the Pistons were able to take advantage of a Tiago Splitter-less Spurs unit, and in turn, they controlled the glass for much of the night. San Antonio was able to shoot more than 52% as a team, but with the lack of ball security that they displayed (future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan had 6 turnovers alone), Detroit was able to hold on for the win.
Because it was the first game since the unceremonious firing of Maurice Cheeks, there seemed to be a bit more emphasis on this one for Detroit, and while the Spurs didn’t have Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, or the aforementioned Tiago Splitter, this was a very nice victory for the struggling Pistons.