DALLAS — Detroit center Andre Drummond bullied Dallas for 25 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Pistons to an important 102-96 road win over the struggling Mavericks on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
All five Detroit starters scored in double figures as the surging Pistons (33-31) moved into a virtual tie with the limping Chicago Bulls for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
In a game that was tight throughout, Drummond and the Pistons used an 11-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to go ahead 92-83. Dallas, which got 25 points and five assists from forward Chandler Parsons, including a driving dunk to cut the deficit to 93-89, still couldn’t avoid dropping its fourth consecutive game, a season high.
With a chance to tie with less than 90 seconds to play, Chandler launched an air ball from several feet behind the top of the 3-point arc. Detroit nearly coughed it up on their next possession when Dallas center Zaza Pachuia poked the ball away. But Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson, who was having a horrible shooting night, buried a late shot-clock 3-pointer to make it 98-92 with 58 seconds to go.
Jackson entered the game second in the league in clutch points, and he delivered once again with the improbable deep ball. That bucket gave Jackson 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting, but he was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He finished with 11 points and four assists.
Forward Marcus Morris had a big game with 20 points and seven rebounds. Recently acquired forward Tobias Harris contributed 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 14 points, while going 1-of-8 from beyond the arc.
The Mavs (33-32) fell further behind sixth-seed Portland, and is now only percentage points ahead of Houston for the No. 7 seed in the tight race at the bottom of the West playoff hunt.
Dallas had four players score in double figures, but Dirk Nowitzki, with 23 points, was the only one to join Chandler with more than 10 points, which is the total both Pachulia and Wesley Matthews managed. Deron Williams struggled to just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting and 1-of-6 from 3-point range.
The Mavs started the game hot from long range, but completely fell apart in the second half to finish 9-of-30 from beyond the arc.
Detroit got down early, but kept in striking distance thanks to a 20-point, eight-rebound first-half from Drummond, who finished the game 10-of-19 from the floor. His eruption came one game after Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan lit up the Mavs for 23 points and 20 rebounds that included a 16-point, 14-rebound first half that also kept L.A. close and set up its second-half rout.
Drummond’s productivity, which came despite going 4-of-11 from the free-throw line in the opening half (5-of-14 in the game) as Dallas turned to intentionally fouling him in the second quarter, helped Detroit to a 54-52 lead halftime lead.
NOTES: Wednesday’s home game against the Detroit Pistons was Dallas’ 600th regular-season game played at the American Airlines Center. The Pistons were also the Mavericks’ first game at the AAC on Oct. 30, 2001. … The Mavs entered Wednesday’s game with 14 home losses, their total number of home losses last season. … Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand Saturday against Indiana, and then play 10 of their final 16 games on the road. … Pistons G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope entered Wednesday’s game needing two 3-pointers to reach 300 for his career. … Detroit hopes G Jodie Meeks, who hasn’t played since the second game of the season because of a foot injury, will return at some point during the current four-game road trip. … The Pistons’ 32 victories entering Wednesday’s game matches their win total from last year in just 63 games, tied for the most wins by a Pistons’ team since 2008-09 (39). They need one more road win to match last season’s total road wins (14). … The Pistons started a four-game road trip Wednesday. The final three are against Eastern Conference teams. Detroit then begins a season-long nine-game homestand that will keep them at The Palace at Auburn Hills from March 16 through April 1.