National Basketball Association
Detroit 119, Miami 96
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 23, 2019
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Officials: #60 James Williams, #32 Marat Kogut, #20 Leroy Richardson
Attendance: 19600

Ish Smith led a strong bench effort with a season-high 22 points and nine assists, and the Detroit Pistons pulled away to a 119-96 victory over the host Miami Heat on Saturday.

Fellow reserves Langston Galloway and Luke Kennard added 17 points apiece as the Pistons' bench scored 66 points.

Blake Griffin had 20 points and six assists, Reggie Jackson added 13 points and Andre Drummond chipped in 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks to lead the starting unit.

Detroit has won six of its last seven, including back-to-back victories after the All-Star break. It shot 52.5 percent from the field and made 14 of 33 3-point attempts. Miami shot 42.7 percent and connected on just seven of its 28 long distance tries.

The Pistons also controlled the boards, 41-33, as they moved into the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Josh Richardson led the Heat with 22 points. Dion Waiters contributed 17 points, Dwyane Wade supplied 15 points and Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Kennard scored 10 second-quarter points, and Detroit outscored Miami 34-17 during those 12 minutes to gain a 54-46 halftime lead. Whiteside led the Heat with 10 points and 12 rebounds before the break.

The Pistons increased their lead to 15 by opening the second half with a 10-3 spurt. The Heat answered with a 15-4 outburst. Kelly Olynyk scored the last six Heat points during that span.

Detroit recovered and got the lead up to double digits again at 82-72 during the final minute of the quarter. It brought an 84-76 advantage into the fourth.

The Pistons' reserves then started the fourth quarter off with a 14-2 spurt to push the lead to 20. Galloway had a pair of threes and Kennard scored two layups after making steals to spark that run.

Galloway added a four-point play with just under seven minutes left for a 105-84 lead. Miami couldn't muster another run.

The teams split their first two meetings in Detroit. They'll play again in Miami on March 13.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   Miami
Ish Smith 22 Scoring Josh Richardson 22
Ish Smith 9 Assists Dion Waiters 5
Andre Drummond 14 Rebounds Hassan Whiteside 15
Reggie Jackson 5 Free Throws Made Kelly Olynyk 4
Luke Kennard 3 Steals Kelly Olynyk 2
Andre Drummond 4 Blocks Hassan Whiteside 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Detroit 119 52.5 14-33 21-26 21 41 5 6 14
Miami 96 42.7 7-28 19-27 18 33 6 6 13
Upcoming Games
  • Miami will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Heat have a W/L % of .407 after a win and .484 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Indiana. The Pistons have a W/L % of .536 after a win and .433 after a loss.