Detroit Pistons hold on in LA and stop Lakers, 117-114

LOS ANGELES – The Detroit Pistons’ western road trip pulled off a big surprise for the second year in a row.

The Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 117-114 at Crypto.com Arena thanks to a balanced performance – six players scored in double figures – and timely stops. Two shots from LeBron James in the game’s final 90 seconds capped a Lakers rally that cut the Pistons’ 10-point lead to three, but head coach JB Bickerstaff won a coaches challenge with 28.9 seconds left that contributed to the victory .

In the final minute, Detroit’s Tobias Harris was whistled for a shooting foul on Anthony Davis. However, the call was canceled after verification. Still, the Lakers had one last chance after Cade Cunningham missed a game-winning three-pointer with just over three seconds left, but James’ potential three-pointer bounced off the rim.

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It was the second straight win for the Pistons (13-17), who defeated the Suns on Saturday in Phoenix.

Malik Beasley led the Pistons with 21 points and Cunningham had a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. Jaden Ivey (18 points), Tim Hardaway Jr. (15 points), Simone Fontecchio (13 points) and Ron Holland (10 points) also reached double figures. James led the Lakers with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

The Pistons fell behind by 10 points in the first quarter, but finished the game strong and outscored the Lakers 18-6 the rest of the quarter to take a two-point lead. The run reached 25-8 in the second half, giving the Pistons their largest lead of the first half at 41-34 before the Lakers fought back.

The second and third quarters were close, with eleven lead changes and six ties in the third alone. The Pistons dominated the final period, however, using a 20-9 run to build a 10-point lead over the Lakers (113-103) with just over five minutes left.

The Lakers shot 54.1%, but the Pistons’ defense forced 18 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Pistons only had 12 points, allowing them to build a 28-9 point differential in turnovers.

Pistons force more turnovers

Monday marked the Pistons’ third straight game in which they forced at least 18 turnovers, a surprising trend for a team that is one of the NBA’s stealth worst.

Entering the game, Pistons opponents averaged 14.4 turnovers per game, which ranks 20th in the league. The Pistons rank last in steals per game with 6.8. But on Monday, they forced countless turnovers and finished the night with 12 steals, one fewer than the season-high 13 they posted against the Suns on Saturday.

Paul Reed was active defensively and led the team with three steals. Harris, Ivey and Beasley each had two steals.

Fontecchio provides the spark from the bench

In his third season, Fontecchio hasn’t yet found his rhythm in the first third of the season. He entered Monday shooting 40.7% overall and hitting 34.8% from three-point range – below his career average of 37.1% from beyond the arc, not to mention the 42.6% he shot last season the Pistons scored on three-pointers.

As the first quarter buzzer expired, he hit a 3 to give the Pistons their first lead since the start of the game, 2-0, and opened the second with two free throws and a layup. With 8:03 left in the fourth period, he knocked down a long mid-range jumper – granted after a foul was overruled over an initial offensive foul – to extend their lead to 10.

In 20 minutes, Fontecchio scored 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting.

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Detroit Pistons hold on in LA and stop Lakers, 117-114

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