PISTONS 76, RAPTORS 73: Brandon Knight and Ben Gordon poured in 19 points apiece as host Detroit held off Toronto.

Gordon scored seven of the Pistons' final nine points to guarantee Detroit (24-40) a winning record at home for the season. The Pistons are 17-15 at the Palace of Auburn Hills with one home game remaining.

DeMar DeRozan led the way with 16 points for the Raptors (22-42), who have dropped seven of nine.

Down 74-71, Toronto cut the deficit on a Solomon Alabi tip-in with 39 seconds remaining. Rodney Stuckey made a free throw at the other end, and Alan Anderson missed what would have been the go-ahead 3-pointer with seven seconds left.

Toronto had one final chance at a tie after Ben Gordon missed his second of two free-throw attempts, but Linas Kleiza misfired on a 28-footer.

Greg Monroe added eight points and a game-high 17 rebounds for the Pistons, who prevailed despite shooting just 36.6 percent from the field.

Trailing by five at the half, Detroit made quick work of the deficit with an early second-half surge. Monroe and Knight connected on back-to-back layups to put the Pistons ahead with 5:11 remaining, and Charlie Villanueva knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minute to fend off a Toronto surge and send Detroit into the fourth ahead 53-50.

The teams exchanged leads throughout the final frame, setting the stage for the thrilling finish.

Both clubs came out cold from the get-go - each missing seven of their first nine shots - before the Raptors surged in front, taking a 15-14 lead into the second quarter fueled by eight points from DeRozan. He added a long 3-pointer late in the half to put Toronto ahead by six, and the Raptors held steady from there to lead 34-29 at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit's 29 first-half points was a season low for a Toronto opponent, though the Raptors' 34 points equaled their own low for a half. ... Villanueva, the Raptors' first-round pick in 2005, had seven points and three rebounds against his former team. ... The teams combined to make just six of 28 3-point attempts.