SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tre Jones had 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs overcame injuries to their two leading scorers to beat the Detroit Pistons 121-109 on Friday night, snapping a three-game skid.
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson did not return after injuring his left hamstring with four minutes left in the first half. Devin Vassell was inactive with a knee injury.
Despite those absences, the Spurs still managed to extend their lead to double figures in the third quarter.
Romeo Langford added 15 points, Malaki Brannan had 14 and Jakob Poeltl had 11 points and 15 rebounds as San Antonio won for the first time since Dec. 29.
Coming off a 122-119 victory at defending NBA champion Golden State on Wednesday night, Detroit trailed throughout the final three quarters in a battle between two of league’s worst records.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points and Jaden Ivey added 20 points for the Pistons.
Jones scored 12 points in the first half, all in the paint while shooting 6 for 9 from the field in setting an early tone. Jones added three assists for San Antonio, who had 27 as a team.
TIP-INS
Pistons: Saddiq Bey remained on the court holding his jersey over his face as the Spurs ran a play with nine minutes left in the game after taking a hard screen. Bey rose to run up the court after San Antonio failed to score. He remained in the game. … Detroit is 6-18 on the road this season. The Pistons were 10-31 away from home last season. … Bogdanovic was 2 for 7 on 3-pointers, surpassing Baron Davis in career 3s. Bogdanovic is 57th in league history with 1333 and Davis is 58th with 1332.
Spurs: Johnson entered the game averaging a team-high 21.6 points, followed by Vassell at 19.4. Tre Jones is third in scoring at 12.8. … F Isaiah Roby started the second half in place of Johnson. Roby averaged 8 minutes while playing in 11 of the Spurs’ 14 games in December. … Jones reached 500 career assists in his third season and first as a starter. Tony Parker, Alvin Robertson, Johnny Moore, Johnny Dawkins, Willie Anderson are the only players in franchise history to reach 500 assists quicker. … Jeremy Sochan has scored double-figures in 17 games this season - now the most by any Spurs rookie since Kawhi Leonard’s 25 in 2011-12.
UP NEXT
Pistons: Host Philadelphia on Sunday.
Spurs: Host Boston on Saturday.
