Detroit, MI
Detroit Pistons’ guards go cold against LeBron, Lakers in L.A., 125-111
LOS ANGELES — Since snapping their 28-game losing streak in late December, the Detroit Pistons have been among the NBA’s hottest-shooting teams.
That wasn’t the case Tuesday.
The Pistons hit just eight of their 28 attempts (28.6%) in an 125-111 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. They started poorly and trailed by as many as 16 in the first quarter. A 17-2 second-quarter run put the Lakers further in control, and the Pistons trailed by 23 at halftime after shooting 3-for-19 (15.8%) from downtown in the first half.
It was a rough night for Detroit’s guards. Cade Cunningham (12 points, seven assists, seven rebounds) and Jaden Ivey (15 points, five assists) combined to shoot 9-for-31, and Marcus Sasser missed his first nine attempts before making his 10th late in the fourth quarter.
WAITING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Quentin Grimes can’t wait to add his defense, winning mindset to Pistons
Ausar Thompson (19 points, 9-for-13 overall) and James Wiseman (18 points, 8-for-12) were more efficient. So was Evan Fournier, who scored 13 points in his Pistons debut.
The Lakers were led by LeBron James (25 points, eight assists), D’Angelo Russell (21 points) and Anthony Davis (20 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks).
It was Detroit’s second straight loss, following Saturday’s defeat to the Clippers, after consecutive road wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings.
New Piston Quentin Grimes, acquired from the New York Knicks last week, missed the game with a right knee sprain.
Detroit will fly to Phoenix to face the Suns on Wednesday before heading into All-Star break.
Pistons slump from 3 after hot stretch
Since Dec. 30, the Pistons are third in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 40.1%. It’s practically a 180 turnaround compared to the first two months of the season, during which they ranked 28th shooting 33.4% overall.
There were several factors driving Detroit’s improvement — including hot stretches by Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks and January’s trade that yielded Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari. Even after Thursday’s deadline, which saw all but Muscala depart the team, the Pistons project as a team that can knock down shots due to the additions of Grimes, Simone Fontecchio and Troy Brown Jr.
The Pistons couldn’t buy a 3-pointer in Los Angeles. A modest improvement in the second half — they went 4-for-8 after only getting three to fall in the first two periods — wasn’t enough to come back against the Lakers, who shot 14 of 35 (40%) from the 3-point line.
Fournier makes debut
The 31-year-old French forward, who arrived in Detroit alongside Grimes and Malachi Flynn last week, made his debut midway through the opening period. It wasn’t clear if the veteran would have a role on a team that suddenly has depth on the wing, but he was among Detroit’s better scorers on a night when most of the team struggled. He and Fontecchio were the only players to make more than one 3-pointer, with two each.
“I’m really excited to finally be out of New York, and looking forward to a new opportunity,” Fournier said after Sunday’s practice at UCLA.
“From watching those last three games and a couple of practices, high-energy team with a lot of enthusiasm. Hard-playing team, they’ve been playing really strong on the trip. So far, so good.”
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
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Chickens and geese that went missing from a local nonprofit’s Detroit site were found in the backyard of a nearby home, the director of operations said Wednesday.
The Full Circle Foundation, a Grosse Point Park-based nonprofit, said more than a dozen chickens and geese were believed stolen from a chicken coop on Detroit’s east side that also features the Full Circle Edible Garden.
The nonprofit provides training and job opportunities for young people with special needs.
Neighbors who learned from news reports about the missing flock found the “chickens were being held in the backyard of a vacant home not far from the Full Circle Edible Garden,” said Stephanie DiVirgil, director of operations. She said Ribbon Farm 4-H owns the flock.
“The homeowner was contacted, and she reached out to Full Circle to confirm,” said DiVirgil. “We were able to retrieve all of the chickens and geese that were found on the property, 19 in total.”
The foundation and Ribbon Farms 4-H are working to secure the site, including cameras, fencing and lights.
“We will likely start a fundraising campaign to have these items installed,” DiVirgil said. “We’ve gotten amazing support from the community, including offers to help pay for these additional security measures.”
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Human remains were found in a furnace of an home on Detroit’s west side, the Detroit Police Department tells us.
The remains was found by an individual working on the home in the 5200 block of S Clarendon just after 11 a.m.
Anyone with information can call 313-596-2260 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp.
Stay with WXYZ.com for updates on this developing story.
The Detroit Police Department is investigating after a 5-year-old child was shot in the arm near a park on Tuesday.
The shooting happened at about 8:50 p.m. near the Fargo-Oaklfield Playground on the city’s west side. Police Chief Todd Bettison says the child was in front of his home riding a bike with his father supervising at the time of the shooting.
Bettison says an individual at the park fired multiple shots, striking the child. He says the boy’s father reported hearing shots and the child falling from his bike.
Bettison says the child is expected to be OK.
Bettison says the person appears to have been firing shots randomly, which he calls “problematic.” He says a person of interest is described as possibly between 15 and 16 years old and wearing a mask. He says the person is known to frequent the area.
“When you fire a weapon, what goes up must go down,” Bettison said. “To parents and everyone, know where your kids are. Juveniles should not have guns, and whether you’re an adult or a child, you should not be firing a weapon inside of the city limits.”
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield released a statement, saying in part, “By the grace of God, this young boy will recover from his injury and is on his way home from the hospital. With that said, this incident was senseless and could have had a much more tragic ending.
“Every child in Detroit deserves to feel safe riding their bike, playing outside, and simply being a child in their own neighborhood. We cannot accept a reality where our children are placed in harm’s way because someone chose to recklessly fire a gun.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up.
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