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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The Toronto Raptors had one goal in
mind when they came to Detroit -- keep Jerry Stackhouse and Grant
Hill off the foul line.
|  | | Grant Hill's 25 points weren't enough to get a win for the struggling Pistons. |
That didn't quite work Thursday night, as the Pistons pair
combined for 30 free throws and 46 points, but the idea was sound.
Hill and Stackhouse each missed 16 of their 22 field-goal attempts,
and the Raptors went on to an easy 123-106 victory.
"When you have two guys like that who are historically high in
free-throw attempts, you have to make them into jump shooters,"
Raptors coach Butch Carter said. "Then you just have to hope and
pray that they don't hit the jumpers."
Pistons coach Alvin Gentry agreed that Hill and Stackhouse spent
too much time on the perimeter.
"We shot 40 free throws, but we weren't getting the ball to the hole," he said. "We've got to get the ball inside to be successful."
Seven Raptors scored in double figures, led by Doug Christie's 24, and three of them -- Vince Carter, Kevin Willis and Antonio
Davis -- also had at least 10 rebounds. Overall, the Raptors
outrebounded Detroit 51-37.
"We knew they were a good rebounding team with Grant and Jerome
(Williams), so we just kept hitting the glass," Vince Carter said. "We put bodies on those two, and the guards hit the glass."
Hill led Detroit with 25 points, but couldn't explain the Pistons' sluggish play and 1-5 start.
"I don't know what to say," he said. "We've just got to get
it right and turn this thing around. We've got too many good
players, too many good guys and too much pride to let this happen.
It's gut-check time."
The Pistons, who never led in losing their home opener to New
York last Friday, did not start out any better against Toronto. The
Raptors scored the first four points of the game and never looked
back, rolling to a 41-28 lead after the first quarter.
"When you give up 41 points in the first quarter, and you let a
team shoot 69 percent, you have no defensive presence at all,"
Gentry said. "You aren't going to beat anyone playing defense like
that."
Toronto increased its margin to 53-32 early in the second before
the Pistons made a run.
Six points from Stackhouse and four from Hill led a 14-4 surge that pulled Detroit within 59-48. The Raptors recovered, though, and were ahead 74-57 at halftime.
Detroit rallied again in the third, pulling to 88-78 before
Christie's 3-pointer ended the run.
"We knew they would make a run, but it was in our favor that we
had the cushion," Vince Carter said. "They had to make up a lot
of points, and they would get part of it, and then get a little
fatigued."
Toronto led 98-87 after three quarters, and put the game away
with an 8-3 run at the start of the fourth.
"Give Toronto credit -- they just hit shots," Stackhouse said.
"It was just their night. You expect guys like Carter and Christie
to do it, but they had Kevin Willis out there making jumpers. If we could shoot like that, we'd win, too."
Game notes
Toronto's four-game winning streak is the longest November
surge in team history. ... Toronto's 41 first-quarter points were
the most allowed by Detroit in one period since they gave up 43 in
Atlanta on April 21, 1995. ... Toronto's 74 first-half points were
just five short of the team record, set against the Nets in 1997.
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Toronto Clubhouse
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RECAPS
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Orlando 101
Seattle 109
Cleveland 103
Toronto 123
Detroit 106
Miami 128
Dallas 105
Minnesota 93
New York 90
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