OKLAHOMA CITY _ Blake Griffin was magnificent in his return to the Detroit Pistons lineup.
It wasn't enough to prevent a third straight loss in the heat of the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
Griffin tied a Pistons' record with 31 points in the first half on the way to a 45-point night in a 123-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Pistons' fifth straight road loss.
Griffin was 9 for 14 from 3-point range, one shy of the franchise record for 3-pointers made in a game, but the Thunder took control by holding the Pistons to 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Griffin had missed three straight games with a sore left knee.
The Pistons (39-40) dropped to eighth in the Eastern Conference, but the night wasn't a complete loss as their magic number to clinch a playoff spot fell to two after the Miami Heat lost at Minnesota. The Pistons have three games left this season.
The Orlando Magic (40-40) moved to sixth with a blowout victory at Atlanta while No. 7 Brooklyn (39-40) was idle.
The Pistons had no answer for Paul George, who scored 30 points as the Thunder (46-33) are desperately trying to earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference to avoid the Golden State Warriors in the first round.
Russell Westbrook scored 19 points, dished out 15 assists and added eight rebounds.
But while Griffin was excelling, the rest of the Pistons were struggling.
Andre Drummond, mired in first-half foul trouble, never found a rhythm and finished with four points and nine rebounds, although he did have five blocked shots.
The Pistons' starting backcourt of Reggie Jackson and Wayne Ellington combined to go 7 for 26.
