Detroit shot 12 of 18 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Orlando managed only four offensive rebounds without Howard, who was out with back spasms. Nelson had a sore left calf and Anderson has been bothered by a sprained right ankle.
Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey missed the game with a sore left hamstring.
The Pistons led 50-47 at halftime and scored the first eight points of the third quarter, taking an 11-point lead on two free throws by Monroe. Orlando rallied quickly and even took the lead before the quarter was over. It was 74-all heading into the fourth.
Detroit opened the final quarter with seven straight points - a three-pointer by Jerebko and baskets by Monroe and Brandon Knight. The Pistons then pushed their advantage into double digits again, eventually leading 91-78 after a baseline shot by Jerebko.
It was 93-87 when Monroe made a tough catch inside and had his layup roll around the rim and in, causing Magic coach Stan Van Gundy to grab the back of his head in exasperation.
In other games:
* At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Indiana Pacers rallied from 17 points down in the second half to beat the New York Knicks, 112-104.
New York played without forward Amare Stoudemire (back) for the fifth straight game, and point guard Jeremy Lin is out for the regular season after having surgery on his left knee.
* At Toronto, Andrea Bargnani scored 30 points, DeMar DeRozan had 20 and the Raptors beat Charlotte, 92-87.
* At Cleveland, Danny Green scored 19 points against the team that released him last season and Tony Parker added 19 as the San Antonio Spurs coasted to their eighth straight win, 125-90 over the Cavaliers.
Green played his rookie season for Cleveland, which cut him at the end of training camp in 2011. He's found a new home with the Spurs, who built a 22-point lead in the first half and rested Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for most of the fourth quarter.
Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 13 points for the Cavs in his return after missing one game with a sprained right shoulder.
* At Memphis, O.J. Mayo scored 19 points, Mike Conley added 18 and the Grizzlies overcame a lackluster performance with a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Golden State Warriors, 98-94. Dante Cunningham scored 13 points, hitting all six of his shots for Memphis, who got their third straight win.
Noteworthy *
Andrew Bynum was out for the Lakers' game against the New Jersey Nets with a sprained left ankle. Lakers coach Mike Brown had little else to say about his All-Star center Tuesday night. He refused to confirm ESPN's report Bynum was fined by the team for an accumulation of behavioral transgressions. Brown says he has no problems with Bynum, who was benched at the end of a win last week at Golden State.
