By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Pistons 88, Thunder 82 – The Pistons picked up their sixth win in the last seven games with a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
Detroit opened the game with a 25-21 lead after the first quarter, trailed 48-46 at halftime and had an 71-57 advantage after three quarters due in part to a 25-9 third quarter run.
The Pistons held on to their lead after a 25-17 fourth quarter surge by the Thunder.
Marcus Morris paced the Pistons with 24 points, while Tobias Harris added 17 and Andre Drummond chipped in with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
The Thunder were led by Russell Westbrook with 24 points while Enes Kanter added 14 points off the bench.
The Pistons are now 40-35 on the season, good for a seventh place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They are two and a half games ahead of the Chicago Bulls for the last playoff spot with seven games remaining.
Detroit will close its nine-game home stand on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
Record: 40-35
2nd Place in Central Division (13 games behind Cleveland)
7th Place in Eastern Conference (13 games behind Cleveland)
2.5 games ahead of Chicago for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 6
Misery # towards elimination from playoff contention: 11
Eliminated from Central Division and Eastern Conference title contention.
Next Game: 04/01/2016 vs. Dallas Mavericks 7:30 p.m. @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Stats: Marcus Morris 24 points, Tobias Harris 17 points, Andre Drummond 13 points 15 rebounds, Reggie Jackson 13 points 6 assists, Aron Baynes 9 rebounds.
Canadiens 4, Red Wings 3 – The Montreal Canadiens scored two unanswered third period goals to clip the Red Wings on Tuesday night.
The Red Wings overcame a 2-0 deficit and took a 3-2 lead before allowing two goals during the third period.
Max Pacioretty led the Canadiens with two goals while Paul Byron and Sven Andrighetto each chipped in with a goal and an assist.
Gustav Nyquist, Anthony Mantha and Mike Green each scored a goal for the Red Wings while Pavel Datsyuk chipped in with two assists.
Detroit’s goaltender Jimmy Howard took the loss, stopping 18 of 20 shots. He relieved Petr Mrazek, who started the game for the Red Wings.
The Red Wings are now 38-28-11 on the season, good for 87 points and fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They are tied with Philadelphia for the final playoff spot with five games remaining.
Detroit will host the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.
Record: 38-28-11 87 pts
4th Place in Atlantic Division (6 pts behind Florida and Tampa Bay)
Tied for 8th Place in Eastern Conference (26 pts behind Washington)
Tied with Philadelphia for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 12 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 19 pts
Misery # towards elimination from a playoff berth: 11 pts
Misery # towards elimination from Atlantic Division title: 6 pts
Eliminated from Eastern Conference title contention
Next Game: 04/01/2016 vs. Minnesota Wild 7:30 p.m. @ Joe Louis Arena
Stats: Goals- Gustav Nyquist (17), Anthony Mantha (2), Mike Green (6). Assists- Pavel Datsyuk 2 (31), Niklas Kronwall (22), Riley Sheahan (10), Tomas Tatar (24). Goaltender- Jimmy Howard L (11-12-5) 18 saves on 20 shots, Petr Mrazek 5 saves on 7 shots.