DETROIT _ An unprompted "Let's Go Pistons" chant broke out with just over a minute to play Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena, perhaps giving Tom Gores, Arn Tellem and the team the vision they had hoped for when deciding to move the team back to downtown Detroit last November.
Avery Bradley led six Pistons in double-figures with 24 points, Tobias Harris added 20 points and Andre Drummond posted 16 points and 19 rebounds, guiding the Pistons past the struggling Sacramento Kings, 108-99.
Zach Randolph, the former Michigan State standout, led the Kings with 19 points.
Despite playing Friday night and earning a 105-96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pistons looked fresh and played with energy to begin the game.
The Pistons, who at 6-3 have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, started 8 for 9 from the field, including 4 for 5 from 3 to open a 20-10 lead at 7:29 of the first quarter. They forced three steals from a sloppy Kings team, leading to layups for Bradley and Drummond.
Sacramento found its rhythm as the first quarter wore on, forcing the Pistons to shoot 2 for 10 to close the quarter, and was getting pristine shooting from Randolph (nine points, 4-for-4 shooting) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (11 points, 4-for-4 shooting). The Pistons led 29-26 after one quarter.
The Pistons seemed to make it a point to force Randolph to guard in space to start the second half. Randolph, 36, never has been fleet of foot, but Kings coach Dave Joerger continues to start him at power forward next to Willie Cauley-Stein at center. The Pistons exploited Randolph's matchup with Harris. On the first three possessions of the third quarter, Harris had a driving layup, then Reggie Jackson beat Randolph on the pick-and-roll for two free throws. Harris hit a 3 from Bradley before the Kings countered by switching Randolph onto Drummond.
The Kings let their guard down midway through the third quarter after an in-bounds play. Jackson took a peek behind him to survey the defense and saw the Kings unprepared. He quickly received the ball from just behind midcourt, took one dribble past halfcourt and heaved a lob to Drummond for a crowd-pleasing dunk.
Luke Kennard heard "Luuuuke" calls from the crowd as he checked in with under 2 minutes left in the third quarter. He sat out the previous four games, with Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy saying Thursday he wanted the rookie guard to be more aggressive.
Kings guard Buddy Hield went right after the rookie on a clear-out, baseline drive for a lay-up. Kennard started the fourth quarter as the Pistons made a run with Ish Smith, Reggie Bullock, Anthony Tolliver and Drummond. Kennard hit a mid-range jumper for his only points (1-for-4 shooting in 10 minutes), and later brought the crowd to its feet after catching a jump ball pass from Harris, then immediately making a slick pass to Smith for a layup and a 96-85 lead with 6:12 left.
