NBA wrap: Pistons beat Thunder despite Russell Westbrook triple-double

The Pistons featured six players in double-figures Friday in a 99-98 win over the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

Detroit's balanced scoring attack helped them reach 12-6 this season, good for their most wins through 18 games since the 2007-08 season. Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 17 points and 14 rebounds, but all five starters scored at least 11 points.

Russell Westbrook did all he could to lead the Thunder, recording his NBA-leading sixth triple-double of the season, but Oklahoma City was outscored by 11 points in the second half.

Westbrook had 27 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists, but he shot just 10 of 29 from the field and 1 of 10 from 3-point range. Westbrook had been playing much more efficiently this season, but tried to force a bit too much Friday.

The Thunder may have been playing through a bit of a hangover after smoking the Warriors 108-91 Wednesday. The Pistons, on the other hand, are now second in the Eastern Conference, four games behind the Celtics.

Studs of the Night:

LeBron James recorded his second triple-double of the season by scoring 22 points with 14 rebounds and 13 assists in a 100-99 win over the Hornets.

Trail Blazers trio C.J. McCollum, Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic helped Portland to a 127-125 win over the Nets. McCollum scored 26 points with five assists, Lillard scored 34 points with nine assists and Nurkic had 29 points and 15 rebounds. The Trail Blazers have now won three of their last four games.

Kyrie Irving scored 30 points with four rebounds and three assists to lead the Celtics to a 118-103 win over the Magic. Irving has now reached 30 points in three of his last four games. He had one 30-point game in his first 15 games with the Celtics.

Dud of Night:

Timberwolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns scored just 10 points with six rebounds in 34 minutes of action in a 109-97 loss to the Heat. The Timberwolves have now lost three out of their last four games and Towns hasn't eclipsed 18 points in any of them.

Highlight:

Not only did Frank Ntilikina make a terrific block, he also kept the ball in bounds:

What's Next:

Celtics (17-3) at Pacers (11-8) 8:00 p.m. ET — Boston's 16-game winning streak was snapped earlier this week, but Irving got them back on track. Pacers star Victor Oladipo (bruised right knee) left Friday's 107-104 win over the Raptors in the fourth quarter, so he could be out for this tough matchup. But the Pacers have won five straight games, proving they are contenders in the East.