Pistons 98, Nuggets 88: Greg Monroe had 21 points and collected a career-best 21 rebounds while D.J. Augustin had 22 points and 11 assists as host Detroit cruised past Denver.

Jodie Meeks scored 18 points off the bench and Andre Drummond had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons. Detroit led by as many as 22 points before making just 4-of-18 shots from the field in the fourth quarter and connected on 10 straight free throws in the final minute – eight by Augustin – to put the game away.

Ty Lawson had 20 points and nine assists and Danilo Gallinari added 12 points for the Nuggets, who have lost five straight contests and 12 of their last 13. Wilson Chandler scored 11 points and rookie Jusuf Nurkic grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds.

Denver trailed by 18 points at the start of the fourth quarter but a period-opening 10-2 burst moved them within 10 with 6:56 left. Detroit went 6:29 without scoring until Meeks’ layup with 4:20 to go and the Nuggets answered with a 10-4 run to move within 88-82 with one minute remaining before Augustin protected the lead at the line.

The Pistons had a 36-14 edge in points in the paint in the first half while building a 56-42 lead. Denver was within eight points four-plus minutes into the third quarter before Detroit rattled off the next 14 points for a 74-52 advantage and settled for an 80-62 lead entering the final stanza.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit finished with a 52-36 edge in points in the paint and also possessed a 51-43 rebounding advantage. … The Nuggets drop to 7-19 on the road. … Drummond has posted four straight double-doubles.