AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Right now, Aron Baynes is probably best known for his samurai-style haircut.If Andre Drummond misses much more time, Baynes could become known for his rugged play.With Drummond sidelined by a sprained ankle, Baynes had 20 points and eight rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-88 on Monday night.This was because of everyone else, Baynes said. They got me the ball in great position, and all I had to do is finish. They were drawing the defense and I was left with the easy part.Baynes came within a point of his career high and played tough defense on Steven Adams, who had just four points in 29 minutes.As the president of the franchise, I probably shouldnt promote my own players, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. But Aron is a starting center in the NBA. The only reason people dont know that is because weve got an All-Star ahead of him.The Pistons (6-5) improved to 5-0 at home despite being without Drummond and Reggie Jackson, who hasnt played this season due to knee tendinitis.Our defense at home has been great, Van Gundy said. Im not quite sure why we havent been able to duplicate that on the road yet, but were locked in at home.Russell Westbrook had 33 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for Oklahoma City (6-5), which has dropped four in a row. Victor Oladipo finished with nine points, but he was the only other starter to score more than four.Im not worried about our offense -- thats fine, Westbrook said. It is our defense. Weve got to defend at a high level, and were not doing that.Andre Roberson, who finished with four points in 29 minutes, said the Thunders defensive struggles are being amplified by their inability to hit shots.This is a humbling moment for us, he said. Weve got to find a way to get past the lack of jump shots going in.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 points for Detroit.The Pistons used their post players to build a 59-47 halftime lead despite Westbrooks 25 points. Oklahoma City missed nine of 10 3-point attempts in the half, and Oladipo went 1 for 7 from the floor. Harris and Baynes each scored 13 points.Detroit led by as many as 19 in the third, but its reserves didnt have as much success as they had in the first half. The Thunder finished the quarter with a 13-2 run to trail 78-68.Despite Westbrooks best efforts, the Thunder couldnt put together a serious run down the stretch. On several occasions, he was able to pull defenders toward him and find an open teammate, only for them to badly miss the shot.TIP-INSThunder: Westbrook scored Oklahoma Citys last 14 points in the first half. ... Jerami Grant and Enes Kanter combined to hit nine of 16 shots in the first three quarters, helping keep Oklahoma City in the game. ... Westbrook picked up a technical foul in the first half for an accidental low blow against Caldwell-Pope.Pistons: Detroit is the last team in the NBA to be undefeated at home. ... With Drummond sidelined, the Pistons only grabbed one offensive rebound in the first half. ... Baynes got hit on his protective mask by Westbrook late in the fourth, and needed medical attention to stop the bleeding from his previously broken nose. Tonight was my last night with the mask, and it was good to have it on, he said.JUST TOO LATEWestbrook almost had 28 first-half points, but a replay review showed his 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer was still in his hand when time expired.BACK ON THE ROADAfter a four-game road trip, the Pistons were only making a brief stop at home. They play their next two games on the road before coming back to the Palace on Saturday.I thought this was an outstanding homestand, and I cant wait to get back on the road, Van Gundy joked.UP NEXTThunder: Return home to host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.Pistons: Travel to Madison Square Garden to play the Knicks on Wednesday. Detroit beat the Knicks 102-89 on Nov. 1 behind 25 points from Harris. Carmelo Anthony led New York with 24 points. Authentic Custom Rangers Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Custom Rangers Jerseys . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. http://www.customnhlrangersjersey.com/ . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Eddie Giacomin Jersey Large .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Custom Rangers Jerseys .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Pundits predicted a decline for Denvers defense after Malik Jackson jumped to Jacksonville in free agency.Jacksons six-year, $90 million contract with the Jaguars dwarfed Derek Wolfes four year, $37.5 million deal that hed signed three months earlier to stick around Denver and continue working under coordinator Wade Phillips and renowned D-line coach Bill Kollar.Yet, Wolfe has emerged as more than just the guy who does all the dirty work as a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme so his teammates can get all the sacks and accolades.His four sacks so far include a career-best 2+ last week at Tampa and are tied for second in the AFC behind teammate Von Millers league-leading 5+.His teammates, coaches and general manager are all calling Wolfe a big reason the Broncos are 4-0 heading into their showdown with the Atlanta Falcons (3-1) Sunday.In his last 14 games, counting the playoffs, Wolfe has a dozen sacks, all the more impressive given that he has to constantly outrace Miller, DeMarcus Ware, Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett to the quarterback.To me, Derek is a real man, coach Gary Kubiak said. We can count on him every week.Miller credits some of his pass rushing prowess to having Wolfe as his wingman.Its like Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. We just get each other, Miller said Thursday, a day after he compared himself and Wolfe to Kobe and Shaq.Hes just selfless, Miller said. If this was basketball, he would be a true, dominant center.This being football, Wolfe is a dominant D-lineman.Miller has 72 career sacks, counting playoffs, since GM John Elway spent his first draft pick on him in 2011. Wolfe has 23+ since coming into the league a year later, more than half of which have come since last season.Its great to see him get a lot of sacks, Miller said. About 10 of my sacks that Ive gotten throughout my career Ive stolen from Derek. So, its been a great partnership, especially for me.Wolfe has benefited, too.There have been sacks Ive gotten because of him, as well, Wolfe said.Denvers No Fly Zone secondary gets a lot of kudos but cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said Wolfe is a big reason the Broncos have throttled Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston.Wolfe makes everybodys liffe easier, Harris said.dddddddddddd Its great when you have a guy that can take on two blockers or a guy that can push the quarterback up the middle and make him scramble outside. Youve got to have a guy like Wolfe or the quarterback just steps up.The Broncos, who doled out $115 million in guarantees to Miller, Brandon Marshall and Emmanuel Sanders this offseason, are glad they were able to keep Wolfe off the market with a deal that included $17.5 million in guarantees.He did his contract before the season was over with, Miller said. He believed in us before we believed in ourselves.Wolfe called it a no-brainer, even after watching Jackson get almost triple what he did three months later.For me it was about creating a legacy. I had already put in four hard years here. Why would I go somewhere else and start over? Wolfe said. Id rather stay here, where I know everybody and the organization had been through rough times with me through a serious (neck) injury (in 2013) and they had my back in that. They took care of me. So, when it came time to sign my contract, I gave them a pretty good discount and decided it was more about the legacy than the money.More than half of Wolfes sacks have come since the arrival last year of Phillips and Kollar, a 28th-year NFL assistant who said tutoring a guy who works that hard and wants to be a hell of a player keeps him young at heart.Why would you ever want to leave that core group, let alone the players that I had here? Wolfe said. Obviously, I knew that if I took less money, there was a better chance we could keep Von and Brandon and Emmanuel. I just knew that it was the right move.Game notes QB Trevor Siemian (bruised left shoulder) returned to practice Thursday. I think we took a big step forward today, Kubiak said, adding that however Siemian feels Friday will go a long way toward determining whether hell start over Paxton Lynch this weekend.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '