DETROIT _ Myles Turner is one of the promising young big men in the NBA.
Andre Drummond dominated the matchup of centers Monday night.
Drummond scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in helping the surging Detroit Pistons to a 113-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Little Caesars Arena.
Blake Griffin had a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He also was 5-for-10 from 3-point range as the Pistons (29-30) have won eight of 10 to grab the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
Luke Kennard scored 19 points and the Pistons were 18-for-41 from 3-point range (43.9 percent).
Drummond asserted his dominance late in the game.
Turner caught the ball in the paint and appeared to free himself after a spin move. Drummond swatted the ball out of midair.
Turner looked for a goaltending call, but Kennard ran down the loose ball and an appreciative crowd cheered.
Drummond had three blocked shots and two steals.
Turner finished with seven points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Wayne Ellington scored 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting from 3-point range, his best game since joining the Pistons shortly before the NBA All-Star break.
The Pacers (40-21) are without guard Victor Oladipo for the season with a ruptured quad. The Pacers are 8-6 since losing their star.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pacers with 25 points and Domantas Sabonis added 23 points off the bench.
The game got chippy near the end.
Griffin and Bogdanovic were hit with technicals fouls after a minor dustup.
Thaddeus Young was hit with a Flagrant-1 for a hard shoulder into a rolling Drummond, who crumpled to the floor.
On the next Pacers possession, Drummond and Young were called for technicals for trash talk.
The Pistons swarmed the Pacers in the first quarter.
Drummond was active defensively and scored around the basket.
His steal and layup gave the Pistons an early 9-2 lead.
A Griffin 3-pointer pushed the lead to 17-8.
It was Kennard who truly ignited the sparse crowd.
He ended the quarter with three straight 3-pointers to push the Pistons lead to 36-20 going into the second quarter. The Pistons were 7-for-10 from 3-point range in the first quarter.
The Pistons had no answer for Sabonis in the second.
He started things with a short jumper. A 17-footer cut the deficit to 12. A tip off an offensive rebound cut the deficit to 10. A fast-break layup cut the deficit to eight.
Sabonis scored 12 points in the quarter, as Pistons center Zaza Pachulia struggled to contain the third-year forward.
Jon Leuer might have been a better option since he's quicker big man, but Pistons coach Dwane Casey stayed with Pachulia in the second half.
