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MINNEAPOLIS -- With his team trailing in the second half, Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond took over against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Drummond scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter as the Pistons rallied for a 96-86 win over the Timberwolves at Target Center.
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Detroit was down six at the half but very much in the game because of Minnesota's poor shooting and penchant for turning the ball over. The two teams combined for 18 first-half turnovers, including 10 by Minnesota, as the Timberwolves clung to a 44-38 lead.
That's when Drummond took over.
Most of his third-quarter points came within six feet of the basket, including back-to-back layups with 3:38 to play in the quarter, which gave Detroit a three-point lead. The Pistons never trailed again.
Drummond shot 10-of-13 and also had 11 rebounds.
"Where he gets the ball is important. We did a little better job at getting him the ball in deep," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "When he gets it in there, he's pretty good."
Forward Stanley Johnson put the game away in the fourth, scoring eight of his 15 points, including a pair of 3s, as Detroit won on the road for the first time in four games.
Minnesota dropped to 0-6 at home this season and are one of two teams in the league without a win on its home floor. The Wolves are 5-2 away from Target Center, the second-best road record in the NBA.
Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 21 points on seven of 17 shooting. It was his fifth consecutive game of at least 20 points. Rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in with 18 points and seven rebounds. Guard Ricky Rubio had 12 points and seven assists.
"We missed shots," Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said. "It wasn't defense. They didn't score 100 points. We played good enough defense, we just have to score. We're getting shots, we just have to score better."
The Wolves shot 42.9 percent from the field, including three of 13 from 3-point range. Detroit was worse, making just six of 28 from beyond the arc, but outscored Minnesota 54-40 in the paint.
"We keyed in, we really did the things that we wanted to do [defensively]," Pistons guard Reggie Jackson said. "We tried to limit the spacing on the floor, tried to play tight defense. Andre was great protecting the rim."
The Pistons finished the third quarter on a 21-11 run, turning a seven-point deficit into a three-point lead heading into the fourth.
A pair of jumpers by forward Marcus Morris and a put back by forward Aron Baynes pushed Detroit's lead to a game-high nine points at 74-65 two minutes into the fourth before Minnesota began chipping away.
The Timberwolves scored the next seven points, including four by Wiggins to get back within two but a dunk Johnson, a short jumper by Drummond and a long 3 by Johnson pushed the Pistons lead back to nine points, forcing Mitchell to burn a timeout.
"I feel like tonight we played at their pace," Wiggins said. "Going into the fourth, we had [65] points. We're a high-scoring team, we're a high-pace team and tonight I feel like we played at their pace."
Jackson had 15 points and five rebounds while Morris finished with 16 points and 11 boards for Detroit. With Drummond in foul trouble, Baynes played 19 minutes off the bench, scoring six points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
"I just try to bring some energy and that's what I tried to do tonight," Baynes said.
NOTES: Pistons G Brandon Jennings participated in full court drills this week for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon last season. Jennings could return before Christmas. ... Timberwolves F Nemanja Bjelica did not play Friday because of a left knee contusion. ... The Pistons return home for the second half of back-to-back games against the Washington Wizards on Saturday. ... The Timberwolves continue a three-game homestand with a game Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
