AUBURN HILLS -- For one quarter Friday night, it looked like the Pistons might have put some pieces together.
Unfortunately, it got much worse for the rest of the night.
Detroit led the Eastern Conference's best team by as many as 11 points early in the second quarter, but fell apart in what turned into a 110-100 loss to Toronto. The Pistons played tough defense early, blocking seven shots in the first quarter, but didn't get another one in the game as the Raptors scored 60 points in the paint on 68 percent shooting.
"The story of that game was a complete lack of defensive will," said a frustrated Stan Van Gundy. "You can't let a team put up 60 points in the paint on you and not even show any interest in stopping them.
"It is accurate to say that our defensive weaknesses have been exposed."
Things hit rock bottom midway through the fourth quarter, when James Johnson drove the lane for a spectacular dunk on Andre Drummond to give the Raptors a 20-point lead.
Drummond did show some energy on Toronto's next possession, smashing into Johnson with a combination hip check and forearm smash. Drummond was called for a flagrant foul and was one of the four players who picked up technical fouls in the ensuing skirmish.
Johnson, though, wasn't angry about the play.
"That was nasty, but that's basketball," he said. "I don't expect anything less from anybody that's trying to win. Frustration sets in when you want to win -- no hard feelings."
By that point, things were also getting ugly in the crowd, with at least one Raptors fan being ejected for a verbal altercation with Josh Smith.
It had been a wild night in the stands from the beginning, as a large contingent of Toronto fans dominated the cheering with chants of "Let's Go Raptors" and "We The North". At one point, with Greg Monroe shooting free throws, it seemed like a road game as the fans booed and waved Canadian flags behind the basket.
"I've seen things like that when I was in Miami and the New York fans used to come down and take over our building," Van Gundy said. "It happens."
It hasn't happened often at the Palace, though, which has often been one of the toughest places to win a road game. That hasn't been the case this year, as Friday's loss was Detroit's 12th straight at home, the longest single-streak in franchise record and one short of the overall record set over two seasons in 1980.
Detroit's last home win came six weeks ago, when they beat Milwaukee on Nov. 7.
