Drummond, Pistons dominated on glass by Thunder in loss
OKC won the battle on the boards, 58-38, as the NBA's leading rebounder was held to just seven.
OKLAHOMA CITY – When Andre Drummond only has seven rebounds, the Detroit Pistons are going to have problems.
And that was the case when the Thunder used a 20-rebound advantage to hand the Pistons a 103-87 loss Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Reggie Jackson's struggles in his return to Oklahoma City was the dominant storyline.
Kevin Durant's 34 points, 13 rebounds and five assists was an example of one of the league's best player's excellence.
But the Pistons are left wondering if a better performance on the glass would have made the game more competitive.
Drummond – the league's leading rebounder – spearheads the Pistons' rebounding prowess. They carried the fourth-best rebounding margin in the league going into the game.
But the Thunder had the best rebounding margin entering Friday and the Pistons struggled to cope with the waves of big men in Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. The Thunder snatched 58 rebounds; the Pistons had 38.
"That's something that we should have been able to do a better job of," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I thought it was really three things, but that was the biggest one.
"I don't think anybody on our team rebounded well at all."
Drummond finished with 15 points, two points, a steal and no blocks in 32 minutes.
Contact Vince Ellis: vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.