Rod Beard | The Detroit News
Detroit — The win streak had to come at some point.
The way the Pistons have been playing in the past couple of weeks, the first back-to-back victories this season seemed to be in the making.
They got it Sunday.
Following their impressive win over the Boston Celtics on Friday, the Pistons added another against the New Orleans Pelicans, 123-112, at Little Caesars Arena.
Mason Plumlee had his first career triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Josh Jackson added 21 points, Svi Mykhailiuk 18 and Saddiq Bey continued his hot streak with 16 points and six assists for the Pistons (8-19).
BOX SCORE: Pistons 123, Pelicans 112
For a team that has feasted on some of the elite teams in the league, the Pistons got just their second win over a team with a losing record, as the Pelicans (11-15), led by former head coach Stan Van Gundy, started hot in the first quarter and then fizzled in the second and third periods.
“You never know what you’re going to get. I know what the style of play was that we wanted to play,” coach Dwane Casey said. “Tonight, we executed it and the ball didn’t stick. For the most part, we had the ball zipping and moving.”
The Pelicans had a 40-30 lead after the first quarter, when they shot 79% from the field and 63% on 3-pointers.
The Pistons took over after that, taking a 64-62 lead at halftime and extending it to 97-89 heading into the final period. They had a 9-0 run, with a 3-pointer by Mykhailiuk and two free throws each from Jerami Grant (15 points), Dennis Smith Jr. and Isaiah Stewart.
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The Pelicans answered with a basket from rookie Kira Lewis and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Brandon Ingram (26 points and seven assists) for an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Mykhailiuk opened with a 3-pointer, but the Pelicans scored six straight points and pulled within 100-95, but Bey responded with a jumper to push the lead to eight.
After a dunk by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Mykhailiuk hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 108-97 lead. Every time the Pelicans threatened the lead, the Pistons found an answer, and they boosted the lead to double digits in the final two minutes on Jackson’s 3-pointer, and they held on the rest of the way.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard