The Lakers controlled most of Sunday afternoon’s game against the Pistons, including withstanding a furious rally in the second half to pick up a big road win, 121-116.
The purple and gold were without Luka Dončić for the contest as he was ruled out on Sunday morning with lower back tightness. Still, the team set the tone from the start and jumped out to a big lead in the first.
Detroit steadily chipped away at the lead before flying back into the contest in the fourth quarter with a big run with Austin
Reaves on the bench. From there, it was a tight affair to the final buzzer.
LA finished with 16 turnovers but scored 23 points off Detroit’s 13 turnovers. They also outscored the Pistons 58-46 in the paint with many of those points from Detroit coming in garbage time.
LA got off to a solid start with Matisse Thybulle stealing the ball, leading to Austin Reaves converting a layup. Thybulle was also left wide open under the basket for an easy two points. Los Angeles continued their strong start, going on an 8-0 scoring run that featured two triples from Quentin Grimes.
Grimes and Austin Reaves combined for 14 points.
The Lakers built a 14-point lead. Detroit was shooting 26% from the field. LA scored 14 points off the Pistons’ seven turnovers.
An incredible quarter ended with Los Angeles getting help from each player who checked in. Sandro Mamukelashvili had five points and Ziaire Williams had eight off the bench. Grimes was in double figures with 10.
Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed six rebounds and dished two dimes. The purple and gold were up by 24 at the end of the first.
Detroit woke up offensively to start the second period. Daniss Jenkins and Kevin Huerter combined for nine points, slowly chipping away at LA’s lead. The Pistons had taken over the momentum, shooting 42% from the field, while the Lakers sh-ot 21%.
Los Angeles’ 26-point lead dwindled to 12.
Williams was a bright spot for LA. With Luka Dončić out, he and Grimes were stepping up with 11 points each. Los Angeles’ suffocating defense from the first quarter had evaporated as they continued to leave Jenkins open for triples.
It was a Jenkins takeover as he ended the quarter with 22 points and was 6-7 from behind the arc. The Lakers weathered the storm enough to lead by 12 at halftime.
Momentum reversed again with LA starting the third period, building on their lead once more on the shoulders of Reaves. Reaves scored 13 points, pushing his total to an insane 32.
Huerter tried to keep the Pistons in it with back-to-back buckets. Cade Cunningham also saw the ball go in the basket, scoring four points.
It was all Reaves, though. He helped put the Lakers up by 17 with 6:30 left in the quarter. Detroit responded with Jenkins and Duncan Robinson each draining triples. The Pistons were outscoring LA 25-23 in the quarter.
Things took an absolute turn for the worse for the purple and gold as they fell apart and allowed Detroit to go on an 11-0 scoring run.
Collin Sexton restored some order for LA, scoring four in a row to put them up by seven at the end of the third.
The final frame was all Pistons early as they tied the game on the shoulders of Jenkins, who continued to shoot ridiculous from behind the arc. He was 8-13 from three and had 28 points.
For Los Angeles, Sexton was feeling it, scoring four points, helping put the Lakers back up. It was a three-point game with 6:59 left.
Crunch time became a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded baskets. Detroit made it a one-point game, but Williams responded by draining a triple. Jake LaRavia further extended the lead with a pair of free throws.
Robinson then made it a three-point game with 3:16 left.
The Lakers answered the call with Reaves, Kessler and Williams taking over the scoring duties, combining for 10 points, including a massive three from Reaves in the final minute.
Sexton had seemingly put the game away with free throws, but fouled Jenkins on the other end from behind the arc. Jenkins made all three free throws to make it a four-point game with 26 seconds left.
Sexton rectified the situation with two free throws. Detroit played the foul game and fouled Reaves, who then iced the win with a pair of free throws.
Key Player Stats
Reaves finished with 41 points, five rebounds and four assists. Kessler ended with 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Grimes pitched in with 12 points and four assists. Williams had a stellar showing off the bench with 17 points. Vanderbilt did the dirty work with 10 rebounds and three dimes.
Mamu logged seven points. Sexton scored 17 points.
The Lakers’ next game will be against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at 4:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
