DALLAS (AP) — Marcus Sasser scored 24 points in his hometown return, including 13 straight Detroit points during a stretch of the third quarter, and the Pistons beat the Dallas Mavericks — playing without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving — 107-89 on Friday night.
The Pistons (14-67) led for most of the night against a Mavericks team that had won five consecutive games and 16 of 18 to secure an playoff spot.
Chimezie Metu scored 18 points for Detroit, matching a career high with four 3-pointers.
Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, was declared out about two hours before tipoff with left ankle soreness. Irving was listed as out Friday morning with left hamstring soreness.
Jalen Hardy scored a season-high 25 points off the bench for the Mavericks (50-31), who are 0-4 this season playing without their two star guards. Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 16 off the bench.
The loss means Dallas will finish fifth in the Western Conference, playing the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.
The Pistons also played without their leading scorer in completing a back-to-back. Guard Cade Cunningham, from nearby Arlington, missed his sixth consecutive game because of left knee soreness. They were also missing center Jalen Duren because of lower back spasms. Five other Pistons were listed as out with injuries.
The Pistons snapped a six-game losing streak one night after a home loss broke the franchise record for losses in a season.
For Irving, it ended his longest stretch of consecutive games played this season at 31.
UP NEXT
Pistons: It’s a meeting of the last-place team in each conference to close the season at San Antonio on Sunday.
Mavericks: At Oklahoma City on Sunday to end the regular season.
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