Raptors down Detroit for fourth-straight win

A raft of reinforcements couldn’t help the Detroit Pistons end a lengthy losing streak yesterday.
Chris Bosh had 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Jarrett Jack scored 17 points, as the Toronto Raptors extended their winning streak to a season-high four games, beating the visiting Pistons 102-95.

Even with Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Gordon all back in the lineup, the Pistons still lost their seventh-straight.
Detroit has not topped 100 points in any of those defeats.
“We had our chances tonight,” Gordon said. “With all the injuries and guys coming back, I still thought we had a chance to win the game.
“We just didn’t convert on plays that we needed to,” he stressed.
Hamilton and Gordon each scored 15 while Jonas Jerebko and Rodney Stuckey both had 14 for the Pistons. Ben Wallace had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points and Hedo Turkoglu added 14 for the Raptors, who improved to 12-0 when holding opponents under 100 points.
It’s the first time Toronto has won three games over the Pistons in a season in the team’s 15-year history. The Raptors also beat the Pistons 110-99 in Toronto back on Nov. 4.
“I think we are playing with a little more confidence now,” said Raptors’ head coach Jay Triano.
“We are getting more guys involved, and we are starting to help each other and understand our defensive roles a lot better.
“As a result, we get stops, which lead to run-outs, which leads to confidence and then everything starts rolling,” he remarked.
Hamilton, who had missed 26 of the previous 28 games with a sore right hamstring, and Prince, out since Oct. 31 with a sore back, each started for just the fourth time this season.
Gordon, out since Dec. 6 with a sore left ankle, came off the bench for Detroit.
All three returnees felt fine afterward but faced some struggles, too. Hamilton shot 6-for-20 and Gordon went just 4-for-15.
“You can do as many drills as you want but if you’re not practising and you’re not playing, it’s going to be a little different when you get out there on the floor,” Gordon said.
Hamilton said adjusting to the speed of the game was particularly difficult on the defensive end.
“Sometimes when you haven’t been out there in so long, you get out there and it seems like everybody is so fast,” Hamilton said. “Sometimes your feet are fast and your hands are slow.
“It’s a lot of stuff.”
That showed in the first half as the Raptors, fresh off a 94-64 victory in Detroit on Wednesday, roared out to a 60-41 lead at the break.
“I know how it is coming back from injury,” Bosh said. “You’re not going to be the same in your first game back, that’s how it is.
“We were trying to go up and down, we had to make them defend, put them in tough situations, and make them move their feet.”
Once the Pistons get comfortable, however, they clawed their way back—outscoring Toronto 28-14 in the third to set up a tense final quarter.
The Pistons trailed 74-69 to start the fourth before Prince made it 85-84 on a turnaround jumper with 5:47 left.
Detroit got the ball back after an offensive foul by Bosh, but Stuckey and Jerebko both missed jumpers.
At the other end, Bargnani converted a three-point play, with Jerebko fouling out.
Gordon missed a jumper and Bargnani scored again, making it 90-84 with four minutes to go.
Two free throws from Gordon made it 95-91 with 33 seconds left, but Jack went 4-for-4 at the line in the closing seconds to seal the win.
With the team finally at full strength, Hamilton said the Pistons feel as if they’re getting a fresh start.
“It’s kind of like, ‘OK, now the regular season is starting again,’” he remarked. “Guys are really trying to find their rhythm.”
Elsewhere in the NBA, San Antonio beat New York 95-88, Cleveland dumped Houston 108-83, Dallas downed Denver 104-96, Miami bombed Indiana 114-80, and the L.A. Clippers upset Boston 92-90.