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Pistons seek first road win in Sacramento

Nov 15, 2013 - 3:19 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The struggling Detroit Pistons are still searching for their first win on the road and will resume a four-game western jaunt Friday against the Sacramento Kings.

The Pistons are 0-3 as the visitor and have lost four in a row outside The Palace of Auburn Hills dating back to last season. They have dropped four straight overall, including Tuesday's 113-95 loss at Golden State.

Josh Smith had only two points and Andre Drummond led the way with 16 and 14 rebounds. Greg Monroe scored 15 points, while Will Bynum added 14 off the bench and Brandon Jennings provided 13 for the Pistons, who are 2-5 on the season and lost the opener of the trip to Portland on Monday.

"We just have to watch some film and get back to being aggressive and physical in the paint," Smith said of the team's struggles.

The Warriors, whose lead ballooned to 29 points late in the third quarter, led from start to finish, as they opened the game on a 16-4 surge and sent Detroit to an 0-4 mark against the Western Conference.

Detroit ranks first in the NBA in steals (10.4) and points in the paint (52.0), and will end the western junket against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Drummond leads the NBA in field goal percentage (66.7) and is questionable Friday because of a sprained left ankle.

Sacramento put the brakes on a five-game losing streak with Wednesday's 107-86 pounding of the new-look Brooklyn Nets and improved to 1-1 on a five-game homestand.

Marcus Thornton scored a game-high 24 points off the bench, Isaiah Thomas chipped in 19 points as a reserve and Greivis Vasquez posted 17 and 12 assists for the Kings, who led the entire game and committed just seven turnovers. The Kings lead the NBA in turnovers (12.1).

"It's good ... first win in November," Thomas said of snapping the losing streak. "Every win is important and you're only as good as your last game so I feel like we're pretty good right now."

The Kings, whose bench had a 57-29 advantage over Brooklyn, still have Memphis and Phoenix scheduled to visit Sleep Train Arena.

Sacramento and Detroit split two meetings last season, while the Pistons have won six of seven and eight of the past 10 games in this series. Kings center DeMarcus Cousins averaged 21.0 points and 12.5 rebounds against the Pistons last season.