MINNEAPOLIS _ Friday morning, Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy gushed over the acquisition of Jon Leuer.
Friday night, Leuer put on another display showing that he might be one of the more underrated signings from last offseason.
Leuer scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead a strong bench effort in the Pistons' 117-90 thumping of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Pistons' bench outscored the Timberwolves' by 16 (39-23) and keyed a second-half surge that turned a close game into a rout.
Andre Drummond garnered his second straight 20-point, 20-rebound game and the 12th of his career with 22 points and 22 rebounds.
Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris went for 15 points each for the Pistons (13-12).
Reggie Jackson, in his fourth game back from left knee tendinitis, scored 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope shot poorly (10 points), but did have seven assists.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves (6-17) with 16 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach Lavine scored 14 points each.
Leuer, who grew up in a Minneapolis suburb, re-entered the game at the 2:48 mark of the third quarter with the Pistons leading, 72-65.
Leuer's three-point play and alley-oop lay-up were key to the 10-3 run to finish the third, as the Pistons took an 82-68 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves, who lost at Toronto the previous night in a nationally televised game, got off to a red-hot start.
They knocked down seven straight shots to take a 15-7 lead at the 7-minute mark of the first quarter.
But Drummond, coming off a 26-point, 20-rebound night at Charlotte on Wednesday night, brought the Pistons back with his dominance.
His alley-oop dunk on a pass from Caldwell-Pope cut the deficit to four at 15-11.
Drummond put up nine points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot in 9:41 of the first quarter.
The Pistons closed the quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 25-20 lead into the second quarter.
Lavine has developed into a nice offensive player.
He attacked Darrun Hilliard for two quick buckets to fuel a 7-0 run to start the second quarter and give the Timberwolves a 27-25 lead.
The second quarter featured six lead changes, but the Pistons took a 49-43 lead into halftime on the strength of a 12-4 run to end the half. Lavine had 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
