Balanced scoring, solid play from the bench and a huge third quarter propelled the Pistons to a blowout win over the Raptors.
This looked like a game that would go down to the wire as the Pistons and Raptors exchanged runs in the first half and headed to the locker room knotted at 52. Then the Pistons came out and shot 78 percent and outscored the Raptors 37-20 in the third quarter and the game went from a back-and-forth battle to a blowout.
The fact that the Raptors decided to rest Kyle Lowry certainly helped, but the Pistons won’t apologize for that. It’s the Pistons fourth win in a row, and more importantly their fourth straight game looking like a bonafide playoff contender. A flurry of points by the Raptors in the final few minutes made the score a little more respectable, but this was a rout by the home team.
Here are the grades: