Detroit home skid climbs to 7 games

Barea, Minnesota win with ease

3/27/2013

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Nikola Pekovic had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 105-82 rout of the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

The game matched one of the league’s worst home teams against one of the worst on the road. The Pistons haven’t won at home since before the All-Star break, losing seven straight, while Minnesota had lost 10 of its last 11 road games.

Reserve J.J. Barea matched a season-best with 21 points for Minnesota, while Luke Ridnour scored 15, and Ricky Rubio added 14 points and nine assists.

Greg Monroe had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit, while point guard Jose Calderon scored 14 points but only had one assist. Monroe and Calderon were the only Pistons to reach double figures, until Khris Middleton got to 10 with an uncontested dunk in the final 20 seconds.

The Timberwolves, who rank 30th in the league in 3-point percentage, hit five of six 3-pointers early in the third quarter to take a 13-point lead. Minnesota kept rolling throughout the period, outscoring Detroit 38-16 in the quarter to build an 82-54 lead.

Another small Palace crowd showered the Pistons with boos as the game got more and more out of hand. The only cheer came when the mascot hit a half-court shot during a timeout, but the applause ended when Minnesota scored another easy basket shortly after the break.

NOTES: The Pistons were missing backup point guard Will Bynum (hand) and rookie center Andre Drummond (back). Drummond, who has been out since Feb. 8, has returned to full activity and could play as soon as Friday night. ... Forward Kevin Love is scheduled to have a CT scan on his broken right hand later this week to determine if he will play again this season. ... Longtime Pistons trainer Mike Abdenour will be out indefinitely with an undisclosed medical issue.