Las Vegas — The opening game was almost a dud for the Pistons.
Then the shooters woke up in the third quarter and helped pull away, helping the Pistons take a 96-80 victory over the Croatia National Team in the first game of the NBA Summer League on Friday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.
It was the first game in the expanded summer league, with the national teams from China and Croatia joining the 30 NBA teams this year.
Khyri Thomas had 26 points, including seven 3-pointers, Svi Mykhailiuk added 17 points and five assists and Todd Withers 16 points and four rebounds for the Pistons, who will face the Blazers on Saturday afternoon.