Against a Los Angeles Lakers team missing the league’s No. 1 scorer in Luka Doncic, the Detroit Pistons submitted a disappointing performance on their home floor.
They fell to the Lakers at home, 121-116, on Sunday, Nov. 8 to drop to 6-3 overall. Despite Doncic being ruled out before the game with lower-back tightness, the Pistons spent the night playing from behind thanks to a disastrous offensive start. They shot just 27.3% in the first quarter and committed eight turnovers, off of which the Lakers scored 17 points.
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Big performances off of the bench from Daniss Jenkins (31 points, 8-for-15 from 3) and Kevin Huerter (22 points, five assists, five blocks and two steals) allowed the Pistons to stay competitive as Cade Cunningham and the starters struggled for most of the night. Cunningham finished with a season-low 10 points and eight assists, shooting 4-for-13 overall.
Daniss Jenkins rises as starters struggle
The Pistons reduced a 26-point deficit at the top of the second quarter to 13 at halftime largely thanks to Jenkins, who scored 20 points in the second capped with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. In the first half, the Pistons’ starters combined to score just 14 points on 5-for-24 (20.8%) overall shooting. Cunningham was scoreless, shooting 0-for-4 overall with four assists.
Cunningham didn’t score his first bucket until he knocked down a 3-pointer at the 9:06 mark of the third quarter. Duncan Robinson (12 points, 3-for-11 from 3) also scored his first field goal in the third quarter, but not until the 2:31 mark. The duo shot 0-for-9 combined in the first half, and were uncharacteristically quiet offensively as the Lakers raced to an early blowout load.
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Reaves, who stepped up as the de facto lead option in Doncic’s absence, buried the Pistons with an array of tough shots. Midway through the third quarter, he knocked down a tough fadeaway from midrange, followed by a stepback bank shot from 3, to notch 32 points and extend the Lakers lead to 17, 78-61. They had no answer for Reaves, who finished with 43 points.
But the Pistons were resilient, using a 20-6 run to whittle the deficit down to three, 84-81, with 1:03 left in the quarter. The run was capped with four consecutive stops and scores – a Javonte Green steal and fastbreak dunk, a block by Huerter leading to a fastbreak dunk for Robinson, a steal and transition layup for Huerter, and finally, another layup from Huerter after the Pistons forced a shot clock violation.
The Pistons cut it to one several times in the final period, but a dagger fadeaway 3-pointer from Reaves with 44.5 seconds left extended the Lakers’ lead back to eight, 112-104.
Huerter delivers his best two-way performance
It was a game that showed why Huerter was a priority over the offseason. The veteran wing, who signed a three-year deal worth $27 million after arriving in Detroit at the trade deadline, was their most reliable player on both ends and did it all, including blocking shots and throwing dazzling passes.
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He was their most productive player on the defensive end with a career-high five blocks and two steals, making his presence felt on a night the Pistons were off as a team.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
Next up: Wizards
Matchup: Pistons (6-3) vs. Washington (4-6).
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: TV20 Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
More online: Visit freep.com/sports for coverage of the Pistons’ late game Sunday against the Lakers.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons lose to Luka-less Lakers in disappointing performance
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
