Alec Burks scored 24 points off the bench and the Detroit Pistons led most of the way to beat the host Charlotte Hornets 111-99 for the first win under new coach Monty Williams on Friday night.
Jaden Ivey had 18 points, Isaiah Stewart added 15 points and Jalen Duren and Marvin Bagley III each notched 14 points for the Pistons, who are 1-1 after opening the season with a pair of road games. Cade Cunningham supplied 12 points for the Pistons, who shot 46 percent from the field.
LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier both scored 20 points for Charlotte, but 7-for-28 shooting on 3-point attempts doomed the Hornets. Ball came close to a triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and nine assists.
Gordon Hayward had 19 points and nine rebounds while rookie Brandon Miller notched 17 points off the bench.
The teams split four meetings last season when they finished with the two worst records in the Eastern Conference.
Burks, Ivey and Bagley combined for 56 of Detroit’s 58 bench points. The Charlotte bench managed just 25 points.
Rozier, a ninth-year guard who tied a career high with 12 free-throw attempts in the opener against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, went to the foul line for only four attempts on Friday and shot 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Still, Charlotte was 26-for-34 on free throws in what at times was a slow-moving game.
The Pistons led 32-21 at the end of the first quarter behind 57.1 percent shooting and Cunningham’s eight points. Detroit’s lead was 54-47 at halftime and 83-75 through the third quarter. Cunningham had 30 points in the opener, a one-point loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, but he cooled off this time.
The Pistons, who had a plus-8 rebounding edge two nights earlier, finished with a 52-41 rebounding edge. That helped Detroit overcome 24 turnovers.
The teams combined for 42 turnovers after their combined giveaways totaled 36 in their openers.
The Hornets had guard Bryce McGowens available after he missed the opener with an ankle sprain, but he wasn’t used on Friday.
–Field Level Media
