AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Tony Parker didn't see it coming. The Detroit Pistons surely didn't, either.

The 33-year-old San Antonio Spurs point guard went scoreless in the first quarter on Tuesday. Parker then suddenly turned back the clock a few years, driving to the basket at will and flinging in mid-range jumpers with ease.

He finished with a season-high 31 points and the red-hot San Antonio Spurs stretched their winning streak to nine games by downing the Pistons 109-99 at The Palace.

"It's very rare, just one of those nights," said Parker, who had his highest-scoring game since pouring in 32 points against Chicago last season. "Just young Tony, I guess."

Parker, who made 13 of 19 field-goal attempts, had eight points by the break. With small forward and usual leading scorer Kawhi Leonard (seven points) having an off-night, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Parker to keep shooting.

It was just the second time this season a San Antonio player reached the 30-point mark.

"He just opted to be a distributor," Popovich said of Parker's slow start. "At the start of the third quarter, I told him, 'We're going to need you to score. You've got all kinds of opportunities.' Kawhi was having a tough night, so we needed to have Tony do that and he came through."

He also delivered at the defensive end, holding Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson to 10 points on three of 13 shooting with five turnovers.

"Reggie Jackson was a great challenge for me tonight," Parker said. "He's been playing unbelievable. In the East, he's got a great chance to be an All-Star, so I knew I had to be ready and try to slow him down."

Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 22 points and 13 rebounds and shooting guard Manu Ginobili supplied 15 points and five rebounds off the bench for San Antonio (34-6), which tied its best start after 40 games.

Center Tim Duncan added 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals and backup power forward Boris Diaw chipped in 12 points.

Shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Pistons (21-17), who had won their last three games, with 25 points. Center Andre Drummond notched his league-high 32nd double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and his backup, Aron Baynes, added a season-high 15 points and nine rebounds.

Detroit small forward Marcus Morris returned after missing the previous game with left knee tendinitis but only scored four points.

"Their bench destroyed us in the first half," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Then our starters came in with nothing to start the second half, defensively, absolutely nothing. So what I said to them after the game, look, you're going to have to play a full game against a team like that."

The Spurs shot 56.4 percent in the second half, killing any hopes of a Detroit comeback.

"I have to be better," Jackson said. "I let Tony Parker got hot early in the third and that kind of sparked them to keep finding easy baskets."

The second half was delayed while the maintenance crew replaced both nets. Parker proceeded to scorch the one near the Spurs' bench when play resumed, firing in 14 of his team's first 16 points of the half.

He capped off the flurry with a pair of layups and a floater in the lane, giving San Antonio a 69-54 lead. Ginobili's basket late in the quarter made it 78-59.

"In the second quarter, I got it going a little bit, made a couple of teardrops and then in the third quarter, I don't know how to explain that," Parker said. "It's just going to happen sometimes. We have so many weapons on our team, it can be anybody on different nights."

Drummond picked up a technical in the closing seconds for arguing a no-call and the Spurs carried an 81-66 lead into the final quarter.

The Pistons got as close as six points but Parker's 3-pointer with 2:17 left sealed it.

NOTES: Pistons reserve C Aron Baynes was facing his former team for the first time. He had a tendency to get over-aggressive in practices at San Antonio. "He takes no prisoners," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's out there full bore all the time. Sometimes he's a bull in a china shop, sometimes he wins the game for you." ... The Pistons lead the NBA in offensive rebounds per game at 13.6. ... The Spurs are well on their way to their 17th straight season with at least 50 victories, a feat that Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy finds mind-boggling. "What they've done, for the number of years they've done it, is amazing and pretty much unprecedented," he said. ... San Antonio is 24-1 when reaching the 100-point mark. ... Spurs PG Tony Parker leads all NBA guards with his 52.1 shooting percentage.