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Gay and DeRozan guide Raptors over Pistons

Mar 30, 2013 - 3:59 AM Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points apiece as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons, 99-82.

Amir Johnson had 20 points and eight rebounds while Jonas Valanciunas recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

"We've got a lot of young players and we're playing for next year," said Gay. "These young guys need to know what it feels like to win."

Jonas Jerebko and Andre Drummond scored 20 and 17 points, respectively, for the Pistons, who have lost 12 of their last 13 games. Greg Monroe recorded 11 points and 13 rebounds in the setback.

"The bottom line is, we have to get tired of getting embarrassed," said Pistons coach Lawrence Frank. "At the end of the day, we're all professionals and you have to be motivated by competition. That's the deal. And to come into our building again and be embarrassed like we were; it hurts."

Detroit led for most of the first half until the 1:56 mark of the second quarter, as Valanciunas made a 15-footer to give Toronto a 44-43 lead.

Toronto then took control for the rest of the game.

At halftime, the Raptors had a 46-45 edge.

In the third quarter, Gay and DeRozan took over of the contest. Gay scored 19 points and DeRozan had 11, as the Raptors shot 60 percent from the field.

Meanwhile, the Pistons struggled to score 15 points in the frame, shooting 35.3 percent, including 0-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Late in the stanza, the Raptors had a 24-point lead before entering the fourth with a 82-60 advantage.

After Jerebko sank a pair of shots early in the period, the Raptors went on a 9-0 spurt, capped with a 3-pointer by Alan Anderson, and had their largest lead in the game, 91-64, with 8:23 remaining.

It was too much for the Pistons, who gave their bench ample playing time. Jerebko scored 10 points and the team had an 8-0 run over the final 2:42, but it was not enough.

Game Notes

Toronto's Kyle Lowry had 11 assists ... Toronto leads the season-series 2-1 ... They play one more time on April 1, in Toronto. If the Raptors win, they win the season-series for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.