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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