Hayes and Jackson muscle Pistons to 9-point win over Thunder

Updated Apr. 1, 2022 10:31 p.m. ET

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Killian Hayes scored a career-high 26 points and Frank Jackson also had 26 to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 110-101 victory over Oklahoma City on Friday night in a matchup of teams near the bottom of the NBA standings.

In the second night of a back-to-back, Pistons regulars Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey started the game, but did not play after the midway point of the first quarter.

Theo Maledon led the Thunder with 28 points. Jaylen Hoard, called up Friday from the G-League, scored 11 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in his first career NBA start.

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Detroit rolled to a 14-point lead late in the second quarter before the Thunder made a run behind a trio of 3-point shots from Lindy Waters III to close the gap to 55-52 at intermission.

But Jackson scored nine points in the first four minutes of the third quarter and the Pistons expanded their lead to 22 points before settling for an 83-66 advantage heading into the fourth period. Oklahoma City cut it to seven in the final minute, but Isaiah Livers hit a three to put the game out of reach.

Hayes added eight assists, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots. Saben Lee handed out a dozen assists for the Pistons.

TIP-INS

Thunder: Forward Aleksej Pokusevski was scratched from the lineup prior to warmups with flu-like symptoms, which is why Hoard was called up for his second NBA appearance of the season. He played 40 minutes for an OKC squad that had only eight available players.

Pistons: It was Cunningham's first return to the state where he played his lone season of collegiate ball (Oklahoma State) and got a large ovation from the Thunder crowd. Cunningham led the Cowboys to the NCAA Tournament last season.

UP NEXT

Pistons: Visit Indiana on Sunday.

Thunder: Host Phoenix on Sunday.

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