By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Pistons 123, Trailblazers 103 – The Pistons defeated the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday evening.
The victory completed Detroit’s first season series sweep of the Trailblazers since the 2005-06 season.
Detroit jumped out to a 30-16 lead after the first quarter, led 58-51 at halftime and were ahead 85-75 after three quarters.
Reggie Jackson paced the Pistons with 30 points and nine assists, while Marcus Morris added 19 points and Andre Drummond chipped in with 14 points and 18 rebounds.
The Trailblazers were led by Damian Lillard with 26 points while CJ McCollum added 22.
The Pistons are now 32-31 on the season, good for an eighth place tie in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls.
Detroit will open a four-game road trip starting Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
Record: 32-31
4th Place in Central Division (13 games behind Cleveland)
Tied for 8th Place in Eastern Conference (13 games behind Cleveland)
Tied with Chicago for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 21
Magic # to clinch Central Division title: 34
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 34
Misery # towards elimination from Central Division title: 8
Misery # towards elimination from playoff contention: 21
Next Game: 03/09/2016 @ Dallas Mavericks 8:30 p.m. @ American Airlines Center
Stats: Reggie Jackson 30 points 9 assists, Marcus Morris 19 points, Tobias Harris/Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 16 points each, Andre Drummond 14 points 18 rebounds, Reggie Bullock 11 points.
Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 1 – The Chicago Blackhawks completed a season series sweep of the Red Wings on Sunday evening.
The Blackhawks got goals from Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Artem Anisimov.
Gustav Nyquist scored an unassisted goal for Detroit for its lone goal.
Detroit’s goaltender Petr Mrazek took the loss, stopping three of five shots before getting pulled early in the first period. Jimmy Howard stopped 19 of 21 shots in relief.
The Red Wings are now 32-22-11 on the season, good for 75 points and fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They are four points ahead of Philadelphia for the final playoff spot with 17 games remaining.
Detroit will continue its road trip with a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Record: 32-22-11 75 pts
4th Place in Atlantic Division (7 pts behind Tampa Bay)
8th Place in Eastern Conference (25 pts behind Washington)
4 pts ahead of Philadelphia for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 33 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 42 pts
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 60 pts
Misery # towards elimination from a playoff berth: 39 pts
Misery # towards elimination from Atlantic Division title: 28 pts
Misery # towards elimination from Eastern Conference title: 10 pts
Next Game: 03/08/2016 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 7:00 p.m. @ Nationwide Arena
Stats: Goals- Gustav Nyquist (16). Assists- N/A. Goaltender- Petr Mrazek L (24-13-6) 3 saves on 5 shots, Jimmy Howard 19 saves on 21 shots.
