Toronto — The past couple of seasons have been a struggle for the Pistons. That is, unless they’re playing the Toronto Raptors. Since he arrived in Detroit, coach Dwane Casey is 8-3 against his former team, including two wins this season.
Make it 9-3.
The Pistons completed the series sweep this season, with a 108-106 victory on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.
Through the first 34 minutes, the Pistons played one of their best games of the season, but they had to hold on through a drought without a field goal for a stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters. They got back on track and held on for their fourth win in their last six games.
“That was a game that we had to control our emotions down the stretch,” Casey said. “We can’t let calls or non-calls evaporate our energy.”
The Big Three of Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey and Cade Cunningham led the way for the Pistons (16-47). Grant finished with 26 points and four assists, Bey 23 points and six rebounds and Cunningham 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
BOX SCORE: Pistons 108, Raptors 106
“It didn’t matter who was scoring; it was just the open man gets the shot,” Bey said. “We just tried to make sure we got the best shot possible.”
With the game in the balance and the Pistons’ lead — which was once 18 points — down to five with 2:26 left, Cunningham scored on a putback of a Grant miss to push the lead to seven. Precious Achiuwa (18 points and seven rebounds) answered with a 3-pointer and Pascal Siakam (28 points and five rebounds) followed with a lay-in to get the Raptors (34-28) within two.
The Pistons looked to get a foul call going their way, but the officials reversed a foul call and it went against Isaiah Stewart (10 points and eight rebounds), giving the Raptors two free throws, and a chance to tie. Achiuwa made one of two and the Pistons’ lead was one.
On the ensuing possession, Bey converted a tough drive to the basket past two defenders, and the Pistons led, 108-105, with 14.2 seconds left.
The Raptors had a chance to tie, but they didn’t get a 3-point attempt to go and Cunningham blocked a drive attempt. Achiuwa was fouled and made the first free throw, and he intentionally missed the second, but time ran out.
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In the third quarter, the Pistons looked to have the game in hand, building the lead to 18 after a 3-pointer by Grant with 4:08 remaining. That was their last field goal for a stretch of 7:17. In the interim, the Raptors chipped away, with Siakam eight points and Chris Boucher five, as they got the lead down to 91-77 entering the fourth quarter.
The Pistons managed to go 6-of-10 from the free-throw line during that field-goal drought to stay close, but the Raptors continued to rally behind Achiuwa and Siakam, who combined to score 21 of Toronto’s 29 points in the fourth quarter. The Raptors were shorthanded, playing without Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby.
The Raptors were playing in front of a capacity home crowd for just the second time this season, and the atmosphere seemed to help Bey focus.
“It’s us versus the world when we’re on the road. We’ve been blessed to have good atmospheres these past couple of games,” Bey said. “I actually like playing on the road a lot.
“It’s just a motivation, and I like the boos from the crowd … I invite the boos and the hostile crowd.”
The Pistons built their lead at the end of the first quarter, with a 15-6 run. Cunningham had a drive a 3-pointer and Grant added a lay-in and a 3-pointer, plus a 3-pointer by Rodney McGruder to end the period. McGruder added a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second quarter to push the lead to 12.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter; @detnewsRodBeard
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