(The Sports Xchange) – – – -Brandon Jennings led Detroit with 21 points and six assists, and interim Pistons coach John Loyer won his debut game over the short-handed San Antonio Spurs 109-100.
Loyer replaced Mo Cheeks, who was fired Sunday after just 50 games as the head coach.
Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey supplied 20 points off the bench, and power forward Greg Monroe contributed his 21st double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Detroit (22-29) won their third straight overall and fifth consecutive home game.
Guard Marco Belinelli paced San Antonio (37-15), with 20 points but the Spurs played without Tiago Splitter (right shin contusion), Kawhi Leonard (right hand fracture) and Manu Ginobili (left hamstring tightness).
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Pacers 119, Nuggets 80
David West scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half, and the Indiana Pacers crushed the Denver Nuggets for their biggest win of the season.
The Pacers shot 57.5 percent from the field, sinking 46 of 80 shots.
Indiana (40-11) won for the 14th time in their past 15 home games and made quick work of an opponent missing four of its top players.
Denver were playing without starting point guard Ty Lawson, center JaVale McGee and forward Danilo Gallinari — as well as reserve guard Nate Robinson.
The Nuggets (24-26) lost their third straight and fell for the eighth time in 12 games.
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Rockets 107, Timberwolves 89
The Houston Rockets had all five starters score at least 14 points as they remained one of the NBA’s hottest teams by winning their sixth straight game.
The Wolves, meanwhile, continued their slow fade to irrelevancy. Without injured center Nikola Pekovic and shooting guard Kevin Martin, and with coach Rick Adelman away from the team for personal reasons, the Wolves lost for the fourth straight time and for the sixth time in seven games.
Chandler Parsons had 20 to lead Houston. Guard James Harden had 19 and center Dwight Howard had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Houston (35-17).
The Wolves (24-28) lost despite forward Kevin Love’s 31 points and 10 rebounds.
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Raptors 108, Pelicans 101
Patrick Patterson scored a season-best 22 points and guard DeMar DeRozan also scored 22 as the Toronto Raptors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak by the Raptors (27-24), who also got 19 points and 12 assists from guard Kyle Lowry. Guard/forward Terrence Ross added 14 points and forward Tyler Hansbrough scored 12.
Tyreke Evans came off the bench to lead the Pelicans (22-29) with 23 points and 10 assists. Forward Anthony Davis added 19 points and guard Brian Roberts scored 18.
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Celtics 102, Bucks 86
Jeff Green scored 29 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Boston centers Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger each posted double-doubles, Olynyk finishing with 14 points and 11 boards and Sullinger with 13 points with 10 rebounds.
