National Basketball Association
Portland 119, Detroit 115
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, March 21, 2022
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Officials: #36 Brent Barnaky, #17 Jonathan Sterling, #39 Tyler Ford
Attendance: 14923

Brandon Williams had 23 points and the visiting Portland Trail Blazers snapped a four-game losing streak by holding off the Detroit Pistons 119-115 on Monday.

Ben McLemore had 21 points and Drew Eubanks supplied 17 points and eight rebounds. CJ Elleby contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, Trendon Watford tossed in 13 points and Justise Winslow added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers.

Saddiq Bey and Cade Cunningham had 25 points apiece for Detroit. Cunningham also made seven assists but committed nine turnovers. Marvin Bagley III added 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Killian Hayes chipped in 12 points and six assists.

Both lottery-bound teams sat out prominent players. The Pistons were missing two starters, leading scorer Jeremi Grant and point guard Cory Joseph. Among the Blazers who missed the game was Josh Hart (knee soreness), who averaged 28.6 points over the previous five games.

McLemore had 16 points by halftime as the Trail Blazers established a 67-52 lead. Williams tossed in 11 as the Blazers shot 53.5 percent while holding the Pistons to 34.8 percent shooting. Cunningham was Detroit's main offensive source, scoring 18 points.

A 10-0 Blazers spurt increased their lead to 23, 79-56, three minutes into the second half. Elleby had a 3-pointer and a three-point play during that span.

Detroit then went on a 17-4 run, including eight points from Bey, to cut its deficit to 10. Portland pushed the advantage to 17 but the Pistons finished the quarter on an 11-2 run to make it 96-88 heading into the fourth.

Detroit continued to chip away and finally tied it at 101-apiece when Hayes made a steal and dunked five minutes into the quarter. The Pistons took a 106-105 lead with five minutes remaining on a Luka Garza free throw.

Detroit was unable to hold the advantage. A Williams steal and Winslow layup gave Portland a 112-108 edge. A Bagley alley-oop dunk cut it to 114-112 with a minute to go. Williams drove into the lane and scored for another four-point Blazers lead.

The Pistons never got closer than four points in the final minute.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Portland   Detroit
Brandon Williams 23 Scoring Saddiq Bey 25
Kris Dunn 5 Assists Cade Cunningham 7
Justise Winslow 9 Rebounds Isaiah Stewart 13
Brandon Williams 11 Free Throws Made Saddiq Bey 8
CJ Elleby 3 Steals Cade Cunningham 4
Trendon Watford 2 Blocks Isaiah Stewart 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Portland 119 42.0 8-28 37-49 22 47 7 15 9
Detroit 115 42.4 9-35 34-41 22 48 5 8 20
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Pistons have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .269 after a loss.
  • Portland will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .333 after a loss.