James Wiseman’s double-double helps Pistons end 11-game skid

DETROIT(AP) — James Wiseman had 18 points and 14 rebounds as the DetroitPistons ended an 11-game losing streak with a 117-97 win over theIndiana Pacers on Monday night.

ThePistons, who hadn’t won since beating San Antonio 138-131 in doubleovertime on Feb. 10, led by 31 points in the first half and heldoff an Indiana surge late in the second quarter and early in thethird.

“When youcome in having lost 11 or 12 games in a row - whatever it was - youknow you have to stay focused to win a game,” said Cory Joseph, whohad a game-high 22 points. “We played extremely hard and got off toa great start.”

The Pacersbeat Detroit 121-115 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

“Thedifference in the two games was obvious,” Pacers coach RickCarlisle said. “That was the edge the Pistons played with fromstart to end. We simply did not match it.”

Jalen Durenput up 12 points and 11 rebounds and Killian Hayes had 10 pointsand 11 assists.

“Our guysplayed with a lot of grit tonight, and I think we surprised thePacers a little bit,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “This was alittle like the playoffs - we made some adjustments from Saturdayand they made some adjustments - but the difference was ourtoughness.”

JordanNwora had 20 points off the bench for Indiana.

As they hadon Saturday, both teams played with shorthanded rosters. Detroitadded Marvin Bagley III (ankle) to its lengthy injury list, whilethe Pacers were missing Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J.McConnell and Myles Turner.

Indianadominated Saturday’s first half inside, but Detroit took controlearly on Monday. The Pistons had a 20-6 edge on points in the paintand a 15-7 rebounding advantage as they outscored the Pacers 38-20in the first quarter. Eugene Omoruyi, making his third NBA start,had 11 of his 17 points in the quarter.

“We got alot of easy shots early in the game on Saturday, but the Pistonsreally flipped the script on that tonight,” Carlisle said. “Omoruyistarting gave them more quickness and toughness in the lineup andwe didn’t get a lot of good shots.”

Detroit led52-23 after four minutes of the second quarter, but Indiana wasback within 67-49 at halftime.

The Pacerscut the deficit to 69-57 early in the third quarter, but Detroitanswered with a 13-point run to go up by 25 points.

TIP-INS

Pacers:Indiana went from 64 points in the paint and 26 second-chancepoints on Saturday to 44 and 14 on Monday. ... Chris Duarte waslimited to 24 minutes by a sore ankle.

Pistons:Detroit’s win was their first against a Central Division opponentthis season after twelve straight losses. ... The Pistons hadn’twon by a double-digit margin since beating Portland 135-118 on Jan.11.

LOCAL HOLIDAY

The gamedrew 18,313 fans on for a special “3-1-3 Day” promotion. March 13is celebrated as an unofficial holiday in Detroit as the datematches the city’s area code.

“The fanshave stuck with us all season, and they’ve been great during thislosing streak,” Joseph said. “I’m glad we could get them a win on3-1-3 Day.”

UPNEXT

Pacers:Visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

Pistons:Visit the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.