The Spurs entered their home game against the league-worst Detroit Pistons already short-handed, with the announcement that Devin Vassell will undergo microscopic knee surgery. They were already going to have to step up as a team to find more scoring, but things got even harder with Keldon Johnson exiting just before halftime with a pulled hamstring, so Tre Jones stepped up and led his team to victory, falling one short of his career-high with 25 points.
The game started with both teams looking to get out and run in transition, and they were initially successful, but the Spurs started pulling away as the Pistons just couldn’t stop them from getting to the rim, forcing a Dwane Casey time out with the Spurs up 24-16.