The Lakers’ win streak finally came to an end on Monday, but not without a valiant fight.
Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half against the Pistons, the Lakers surged back to tie the game in the fourth before eventually falling down the stretch, losing 113-110.
The loss ends their win streak at nine games.
The two teams traded the lead multiple times in the final 40 seconds. Deandre Ayton and Daniss Jenkins each knocked down free throws. Reaves and Jenkins then traded jumpers.
A miss by Luka allowed Jenkins to put Detroit up three before Luka’s desperation three off a broken play came up well short.
Both sides were shorthanded on the night, though Detroit more notably than LA. The Pistons are still without Cade Cunningham due to a collapsed lung while the Lakers saw both Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura miss the game due to minor injuries.
Unlike the previous meeting between the two teams, the Lakers held their own in the paint, outscoring the Pistons 58-48 in the paint. They also scored 16 fastbreak points to Detroit’s eight. The Pistons negated some of that by knocking down 11 threes to LA’s eight and turning 12 Lakers turnovers into 17 points.
Luka Dončić got things started with a midrange shot off the glass. Ausar Thompson responded with a wide-open dunk on the other end after a defensive collapse from the Lakers. Jake LaRavia, who was put into the starting lineup for the injured Marcus Smart, picked up two early fouls.
LA was one for nine from behind the arc.
Both teams were struggling to find consistency offensively. Detroit was shooting 22% from the field and Los Angeles was shooting 23%. Luka was leading the Lakers with five points and Austin Reaves had two points.
The Pistons had three players with two points with 6:26 left in the quarter.
The offenses started to pick up late in the frame as Luka was now in double figures with 17 points. Jaxson Hayes came in and was playing excellent defense with two blocks. Luke Kennard also drained his first triple of the game from the same spot he won Saturday’s contest in Orlando.
At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by four.
Caris LeVert started the second period with a shot in the paint for the Pistons. On the other end, Jarred Vanderbilt had an easy dunk for LA. Detroit went on a 13-2 scoring run, giving them a seven-point lead.
Reaves stopped that run by converting on a three-point play.
In the quarter, the Lakers were shooting 42%, while Detroit was shooting 54%. Daniss Jenkins knocked down back-to-back triples, leading to a 10-point deficit for LA. Jenkins was leading all Pistons with 15 points.
With 3:25 left in the half, Los Angeles still only had one player in double figures.
LaRavia converted on a layup that stopped some of the bleeding. Duncan Robinson responded with two 3-pointers, giving the Pistons an even bigger cushion. The Lakers struggled through the end of the half, leaving them with a 13-point deficit at halftime.
Robinson started the third period with a quick six points off two triples. Reaves began this quarter with five points for LA. Luka started cooking with six points, trying to keep Los Angeles in it.
At the 6:50 mark, the Lakers were down by 11 thanks to the efforts of Luka and Reaves.
Jenkins knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the game. LA went on an 8-0 run, led by LeBron as he started to heat up with his first points of the night. Reaves had 12 points in a big quarter of his own.
LeVert converted on a midrange jumper to slow LA’s surge.
It didn’t work, though, as the Lakers’ scoring run was up to 12-4, leading to a six-point deficit. They had gotten it to four before Jenkins scored on a layup. The Pistons were 8-20 from the field in the period.
LaRavia drained a 3-pointer that was much-needed both for himself and the team. LA ended the third on a 20-8 scoring run to make it just a two-point deficit. Luka and Reaves combined for 21 points in that quarter.
The final frame began with Jalen Duren getting fouled and converting on both free throws. After a flurry of turnovers and missed shots, the Lakers eventually got on the board with a layup by LeBron.
At the nine-minute mark, the game was tied.
Duren converted on a pair of free throws to give the Pistons the two-point edge to start a 6-0 run. LeBron cut the deficit in half with three free throws. With 5:50 left, Detroit was up by seven. LA went back and forth cutting the deficit from seven to five multiple times.
With 2:55 left, the Lakers were now within three.
Kennard was fouled from behind the arc and converted on all three free throws to tie the game. Harris then scored on the other end on a midrange jumper, giving the Pistons a two-point lead again.
Ayton was fouled and converted on a free throw to make it a one-point deficit with 1:56 left. With 39 seconds left, Ayton was fouled again and converted on both to give LA the lead by one.
Los Angeles did not manage to get the stop, sending Jenkins to the charity stripe where he converted on both to put Detroit back up by one with 34.6 seconds left. Reaves immediately scored on a shot in the paint, putting LA back up by one with 29.7 seconds left.
Jenkins then scored on the other end as Detroit took the lead again. Luka had the opportunity to put Los Angeles back ahead with an elbow jumper but missed. Jenkins was fouled and converted on both free throws to give the Pistons the lead by three with 9 seconds left.
The Lakers had the opportunity to tie it, but a broken play on the ensuing inbound led to a contested deep three from Luka falling short.
Key Player Stats
Luka finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists. LeBron was held scoreless in a half for the first time since 2010. Still, a big second half saw him end with 12 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Reaves notched 24 points with five assists.
Ayton scored 13 points with 10 rebounds. Hayes logged 11 points with three rebounds and four blocks.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday at 4:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
