Jaden Ivey made a floater along the baseline as time expired, giving the host Detroit Pistons a 102-100 win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
Ivey finished the contest with 25 points and eight assists as the Pistons ended a three-game slide. Malik Beasley had 14 points, while Jalen Duren supplied 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Tobias Harris added 12 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in 10. Ausar Thompson made his season debut after being cleared to play following a blood clotting issue. He had five points and four assists off the bench.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 31 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. RJ Barrett had 17 points, and Chris Boucher added 10.
Detroit’s top player, Cade Cunningham, missed his second straight game due to a hip injury. Toronto guard Gradey Dick sat out with a left calf contusion.
Beasley got off to a hot start, scoring nine points in the first six-plus minutes of the game as the Pistons grabbed a 21-7 lead. The Raptors cut their deficit to seven, 29-22, by the end of the first quarter.
When Barnes hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the second, Toronto went up 40-35 with 6:29 to go. The Pistons rallied back to tie the game at 48 at halftime. Barnes piled up 20 first-half points, while Beasley and Harris had 11 apiece for Detroit.
The game remained extremely tight for most of the third. The Raptors finished the quarter with an 8-1 run, including two 3-pointers from Jamal Shead, to take an 80-72 lead.
Detroit scored the first four points of the fourth. Isaiah Stewart made two free throws with 6:37 remaining to cut Toronto’s lead to 86-85.
The Pistons kept the game close but couldn’t knot the score until Hardaway drained a 3-pointer with 3:01 left to make it 93-all.
Thompson gave Detroit the lead at 96-95 on a layup. Barrett answered with a 3-pointer off a Barnes feed. An Ivey layup with 1:07 left tied the contest again.
A dunk by Stewart was answered with a Barnes layup with 22.9 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Detroit ate clock before Ivey’s game-winner.
–Field Level Media