TORONTO - Jonas Valanciunas scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a losing cause on Monday night, as the Toronto Raptors dropped a 114-111 decision to the Detroit Pistons.

Brandon Jennings topped the Pistons (14-24) with 34 points.

Seven players scored in double figures for Toronto (25-12), with Greivis Vasquez notching 16, Lou Williams adding 15, Amir Johnson and Terrence Ross finishing with 12 apiece, James Johnson scoring 11, and Kyle Lowry adding 10 to go with 12 assists.

The Raptors had defeated the Pistons 110-100 in Detroit on Dec. 19, but the Michigan team's record was third worst in the league at the time. Three days after that victory, the Pistons waived Josh Smith, and have been one of the NBA's hottest teams since, winners of eight of nine games.

Toronto coach Dwane Casey likened them to last season's Raptors team after the Rudy Gay trade, saying "They're clicking on all cylinders."

The Raptors, who snapped a four-game losing skid with their 109-96 victory over Boston on Saturday, led for a good chunk of the first three quarters, and were up by as much as 14 points in the first half.

The Pistons came roaring back in the third, and cut the Raptors' advantage to just 83-82 with a quarter left to play.

Lowry followed up a driving layup with a pair of free throws to put the Raptors up by four points with 3:39 to play, but couldn't put any more distance on their visitors. Back-to-back buckets from Jonas Jerebko gave the Pistons a three-point lead with 1:29 to play, and then after a mad scramble for the ball and with the shot-clock at nearly zero on the Pistons' next possession, Meeks drained a three-pointer to put the Pistons up by four.

Lowry replied with a three with 43 seconds left, making it a one-point game and bringing the capacity crowd of 19,800 fans at the Air Canada Centre to their feet. Lowry missed with seven seconds left, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope connected on two free throws to give Detroit their sixth consecutive road victory.

Turnovers proved costly for the Raptors, who coughed up 22 points on 19 giveaways. The Pistons had just eight turnovers, for seven points. The Raptors outshot Detroit 54 per cent to 43 per cent, but the Pistons won the battle of the boards 46-42.

The game marked the 21st straight without DeMar DeRozan, who had originally targeted last Thursday for his return, but had then predicted he'd play some time this week. When asked pre-game about a potential return of his all-star, Casey wouldn't say.

The Raptors, who've been plagued by slow starts, came out of the opening whistle at full speed, with Valanciunas leading the way with 14 points, and Lowry doling out nine assists — just two shy of the club record for a quarter, held by Doug Christie. Lowry found Valanciunas for an alley-oop dunk that put the Raptors up by 12 midway through the quarter, and they took a 32-20 lead into the second.

Williams led the way with nine points in the second quarter as the Raptors built their lead to 14 points. A floater from Williams with four seconds to play send Toronto into the dressing room at halftime with a 60-48 lead.

The Pistons outscored Toronto 34-23 in the third, tying the game with a three by Jennings midway through the quarter. The Raptors remained within four points of the Pistons for the rest of the frame, pulling ahead to lead by one with one quarter to play.

The Raptors host Philadelphia on Wednesday, then the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks on Friday. They cap the homestand on Sunday when they host the New Orleans Pelicans.

NOTES: Valanciunas's previous career high was 27 points versus the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 24 of this season. . . The Raptors had won six of their previous meetings with Detroit, including four in a row. . . The Raptors had been outscored in the first quarter in nine of their previous 11 starts.