The Denver Nuggets (17 - 27) defeated the Detroit Pistons (23 - 21) 104 - 101 on Saturday night. This game was full of big swings, but the Nuggets were able to make the final push to pull out a win. What really guided Denver to a win was a 39 - 20 third quarter, in which they were trailing by double - digits prior to that. This was a mental win for Denver, as they dominated the turnover margin and the free - throw shooting. In fact, Denver shot 83 percent on their free - throws to the Pistons 53 percent and committed half as many turnovers as Detroit in the victory. The Pistons actually dominated the rebounding, as they snatched down 51 boards to the Nuggets 32. Detroit came into this game as a small favorite, but couldn’t muster up enough late to pull out the road win. The bench was the only reason they played so well, as they scored 41 bench points to go along with an impressive 27 rebounds. Andre Drummond had his worst game of the season, as he tallied just four points and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes of play. Drummond got in foul trouble early and Aron Baynes got the late minutes because he simply outplayed him. Baynes actually finished with a double - double in the loss. Marcus Morris led the team with 20 points and there were stretches when he was asked to ISO the offense and essentially carry the offense. When Reggie Jackson and Drummond struggle like this, they almost never win. The Pistons will stay in altitude, as they have to play the Jazz in Utah on Tuesday in their next game. Denver is now 4 - 3 in their current eight - game homestand, with all of the games coming down to the wire. The starters were all exceptional tonight for the Nuggets tonight, as they all played at least 32 minutes and combined for 82 points and 15 steals. Danilo Gallinari scored a game - high 30 points and is one of the top - five scorers in the NBA since the beginning of January. The rookies were fantastic for Denver as well, as Nikola Jokic and Emmanuel Mudiay combined for 35 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals and four blocks in the win. The Nuggets will cap off their homestand on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks in what should be another close matchup.
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