Spurs too much for the Pistons at the Palace 100-89

Tony Parker had 19 points and seven assists, and the Spurs did take a small step toward becoming a tougher defensive team in the second half of a 100-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons scored only 15 points in the third quarter and never led in the fourth.

DeJuan Blair added 18 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which improved its NBA-best record to 43-8. Manu Ginobili scored 13 points for the Spurs, and Tim Duncan contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Will Bynum scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for Detroit (19-33). The Pistons kept it close in the third quarter despite shooting 7 of 22 in the period, but San Antonio calmly held them at bay in the fourth.

Bynum made a dunk and a 15-footer to pull the Pistons within two at 80-78 with 6:37 remaining in the game, but Ginobili and Matt Bonner made back-to-back 3-pointers. Bonner returned after missing 10 games with a right knee injury and scored 10 points—eight of them in the fourth.

San Antonio had set a record for the franchise’s best 50-game start, but the Spurs struggled to pull away from the Pistons. They were ahead 52-51 at halftime, but the lead didn’t reach double figures until the final minute.

In a matchup of promising young big men who used to play at Big East schools, Pittsburgh’s Blair got the better of Georgetown’s Greg Monroe, but not by much. Monroe had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons.

Richard Jefferson scored 11 points for the Spurs, whose balance proved to be too much for Detroit. All five starters scored in double figures for San Antonio, which became only the fourth opponent to score 100 points in Detroit’s last 14 games.