Detroit Pistons

2024-02-02

Detroit Pistons' improved offense not enough in 136-125 blowout by LA Clippers

Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press

For the third time in as many games, the Detroit Pistons looked capable against a contending team.

But after a 16-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and a seven-point loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, the Pistons fell flat on Friday. They led by double digits early but lost to the Los Angeles Clippers at home, 136-125, behind a strong night from Kawhi Leonard, who needed just three quarters to score 31 of his 33 points.

Jaden Ivey led the Pistons with 28 points and seven rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic added 26 points. They also got a strong performance from rookie Marcus Sasser, who hit five of his six 3-point attempts and finished with 21 points. The Pistons committed 16 turnovers, off which the Clippers scored 25 points.

An early run

Detroit stormed out of the game, using a 13-0 run early in the first quarter to build a 14-point lead midway through it. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Sasser, who hit four of them in five first-half tries, gave Detroit a nine-point lead with 6:15 to play. But Leonard caught fire, hitting three 3-pointers during a 17-6 run that put the Clippers in control by halftime, 65-59.

The Pistons trailed during the entire second half. Leonard stayed hot through halftime, patiently waiting out a double-team before hitting a turnaround midrange jumper over Bogdanovic midway through the third to give the Clippers an 83-74 advantage. Detroit hit 11 of its first 17 shots in the third half to trim the deficit to one, 89-88, but the Clippers answered with a 13-1 run to take an 11-point lead, 101-90, into the final stretch.

The Clippers locked it down in the fourth, using a 7-0 run (aided by a Pistons turnover) to build an 18-point leadwith 11 minutes to go. Detroit managed one last run to get within seven, but the Clippers finished them off with a 16-3 run to take a 20-point lead with less than four minutes left.

Mike Muscala, who suffered a concussion against the Cavaliers on Wednesday, did not play. Isaiah Stewart (left ankle sprain) missed his second consecutive game. Kevin Knox replaced Muscala in the starting lineup. Killian Hayes was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row.

Pistons stay hot offensively, but turnovers cost them

It couldn’t have been a better start for the Pistons, who raced to an early 20-6 lead behind strong starts from Bogdanovic (10 points in the first quarter) and Ivey (seven points). Detroit answered a Terance Mann layup with a 13-0 run, capped by a jump hook by Jalen Duren over former Pistons big Mason Plumlee midway through the opening period.

The Clippers whittled the lead to three thanks to a strong start by Leonard, who scored 12 in the first. But Danilo Gallinari continued his strong play since joining the Pistons via trade; after scoring 20 points Wednesday, he knocked down a 3 and a pair of free throws to give the Pistons a six-point cushion. Sasser and Alec Burks added 3s early in the second quarter to push the lead back to double-digits, 39-29, before the Clippers took control in the back half of the period.

Trade paying off

Entering the game, the Pistons were ninth in the NBA in offensive rating since Jan. 15, the day after they traded for Gallinari and Muscala. It’s only a nine-game sample size, including Friday's loss, but the Pistons are finding chemistry on that end. Gallinari and Muscala have been instrumental in their improvement as floor-stretching centers.

“(Gallinari's) a guy that I’ve been telling the coaches and Troy, I’ve been wanting to find him opportunity to get on the floor just because he’s not just a shooter,” head coach Monty Williams said on Wednesday. “He knows how to play and he showed that tonight. When you make a midseason trade, you’d like to make it with guys who know how to play. If you’d had younger guys in that trade, it would be a bit tougher for them to pick up stuff and understand how the NBA game is played. Those two guys, I think they can play with any group.”

On Wednesday, the Cavaliers scored 29 points off of 17 Pistons turnovers — a 24-point swing. Detroit committed eight turnovers in the first half on Friday, and then two more costly ones during a 9-0 Clippers run that extended their lead from seven to 16, 125-109, with 5:57 to play in the fourth.

The Pistons have improved, but haven’t stopped beating themselves with avoidable errors.