Gasol ties career-high, leads Grizzlies over Pistons

Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol shoots while defended by Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond. AP

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Marc Gasol knew his shot would come back eventually.

It didn’t take long.

After shooting 29-percent during a three-game losing streak, Gasol went 14-for-17 and matched a career high with 38 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Detroit Pistons 98-86 on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).

“I knew I just had to keep shooting and keep trying to help the team as much as I could until things starting falling,” said Gasol, who went 18-for-62 during the slump. “Tonight I got going, and my teammates kept finding me. When you are making shots, everything seems easier.”

Memphis coach David Fizdale wasn’t surprised that his team turned things around one night after losing in overtime to the Boston Celtics.

“This group never stays down for long,” he said. “It’s a tough-minded team and all I have to do is keep them coming back.”

Detroit dropped its fourth straight, all by double figures.

“I was getting good looks, but everything was going in and out, which happens in this league,” said Marcus Morris, who was 1-for-11 from the floor and guarded Gasol. “Marc’s a bad boy. He’s 7-foot-1 and he’s pump-faking before hitting 3s. That’s tough to guard.”

Detroit’s defense, which had infuriated coach Stan Van Gundy over the last three games, improved against Memphis. The Grizzlies shot 42.7 percent from the field, but hit 40-percent of their 3-pointers and added 22 points on 17 Pistons turnovers.

“I thought the defense was good enough to win, even with Marc having a career night,” Van Gundy said. “So that was a positive, and I thought we got good looks. But we couldn’t put the ball in the basket and we turned it over way too many times, so we’re still frustrated on offense.”

Memphis was boosted by the return of Chandler Parsons, who missed the previous 17 games with a bone bruise on his left knee. He had two points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.

Gasol was the only Grizzlies player to reach double figures until JaMychal Green got there with 1:03 to play.

Van Gundy had planned to change his starting lineup after three straight losses, but Jon Leuer missed shootaround after being in a car accident. Leuer played, scoring 18 points, but Van Gundy decided to hold off on starting him until Friday against Golden State.

“Jon’s been our most consistent player lately, so we wanted him on the floor as much as we could,” Van Gundy said.

Reggie Jackson also scored 18 for the Pistons, while Andre Drummond had 13 points and 19 rebounds.

“This was definitely a step in the right direction,” Jackson said. “We need to get better, but we battled tonight. The effort was better than it has been. We just made too many mistakes.”

For much of the first half, it looked as though the Pistons were headed for another blowout loss, as they trailed by as many as 18 points. A 16-2 run cut the deficit to 42-38, but Memphis pushed it back to nine at halftime.

Detroit made another run in the third quarter, but was never able to get enough stops to pose a serious threat. Gasol scored 14 in the period – his second double-digit quarter – and Memphis took a 79-63 lead into the final 12 minutes.