DETROIT _ No one would mind more of this.
The Detroit Pistons were able to overcome a five-point deficit in the final 2:22 of overtime to pull out a tough 112-107 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena in what could have been a possible preview of a first-round playoff series.
Raptors star Kahwi Leonard, who was rested, would be available for any such matchup, but the Pistons (31-31) would have confidence after clinching the season series with two victories against the Eastern Conference's second-best team.
The Pistons move to .500 for the first time since Dec. 26 and are now sixth in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, 2 { games in front of the eighth-place Orlando Magic, who lost at Cleveland.
Things looked bleak when Kyle Lowry's 3-pointer gave the Raptors a 107-102 lead.
But Blake Griffin free throws, a Reggie Jackson 3-pointer and two free throws from Andre Drummond gave the Pistons a 109-107 lead with 46.1 seconds remaining.
The Pistons delivered two more stops and have now won 10 of 13.
Andre Drummond, who battled foul trouble the entire game, scored 15 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, had two steals and a blocked shot in 28 minutes.
He still finished a staggering plus-27 in plus-minus.
Blake Griffin scored 27 points and added seven rebounds, but he did have five turnovers.
Jackson scored 19 points and added four assists.
Luke Kennard scored 19 points and was 5-for-9 from 3-point range, one day after scoring 26 points on 6-for-7 shooting in a blowout victory at Cleveland.
Lowry led the Raptors with 35 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Pascal Siakam added 21 points.
The Raptors forced overtime when O.G. Anunoby tapped in a missed shot, tying the game at 100 with 25.6 seconds left.
The Pistons were forced into a shot-clock violation and Gasol missed an open corner 3-pointer as regulation expired.
Things grew testy in the third quarter.
Lowry and Danny Green received technical fouls on the same possession after arguing calls, but Jackson and Wayne Ellington missed free throws.
Zaza Pachulia was ejected at the 2:27 mark of the third quarter after he received two technical fouls (one for bumping an official).
His anger was understandable since he was clobbered going up for a shot and there wasn't a call.
The teams will meet again in two weeks at Little Caesars Arena for the rubber match of the season series.
The LCA crowd was lively for a change and the Pistons played with energy at the start.
The Pistons jumped to a 10-2 lead after early 3-pointers from Griffin and Wayne Ellington.
A Griffin driving layup pushed the lead to 19-7 at the 4:21 mark of the first quarter.
The Pistons largest lead of the half was 13 before they settled for a 48-45 lead at halftime.
The Pistons were 8-for-21 from 3-point range in the first half.
The Pistons' last-second 106-104 victory at Toronto on Nov. 14 ranks at one of the top moments of the season.
Former Pistons player Reggie Bullock's layup as time expired set off a joyous celebration as the team took a little revenge for Casey, who was fired after coaching the Raptors for seven seasons.
Casey admitted at the time it was an emotional evening in returning to Scotiabank Arena, but the time for looking back has passed.
"All the nostalgia, all the other stuff (is gone)," Casey said before the game. "You think about that when you see your former players out there, but once the ball goes up, we're fighting for something and they are, too."
