Blake Griffin scored 23 points and the host Detroit Pistons held the Los Angeles Lakers scoreless for nearly 7 minutes in the 4th quarter and pulled away to a 107-92 victory on Thursday, January 28 (Friday, January 29, Philippine time).
Both teams were playing a second game of a back-to-back, but the Pistons had much more energy as the game wore on.
Wayne Ellington had 20 points, including 6 three-pointers, and Mason Plumlee supplied 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jerami Grant and Derrick Rose added 14 points apiece for Detroit.
LeBron James had 22 points but only 2 after halftime for the Lakers. He also contributed 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Talen Horton-Tucker added 13 points off the bench.
Los Angeles’ Anthony Davis sat out the game due to a quad injury. The Lakers lost their second straight road game after going 10-0 to start the season.
The Lakers were clinging to a 58-56 lead at halftime.
Ellington connected on 4 three-point tries for Detroit while scoring 14 points in the half.
The Pistons committed just one turnover but shot just 41.7% from the field. Neither side had a lead bigger than 8 points during the half.
Detroit had a five-point possession midway through the 3rd quarter to tie the score at 70. Plumlee converted in the lane while getting pulled down by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was handed a flagrant foul 1. Plumlee drained the free throw, and Griffin then made a bank shot.
That began a 15-2 Pistons run to give them an 80-72 lead. Griffin knocked down two three-pointers during that span. Detroit carried an 82-78 advantage into the final quarter.
James made a steal and tossed the ball to Horton-Tucker for a transition three-pointer, cutting Detroit’s lead to 88-87 with 8:40 remaining.
From there, it was all Pistons as Los Angeles went scoreless for the next 6:50.
Griffin fired in a triple from the left wing to get the outburst going. Ellington provided a double-digit advantage with a long ball from the right wing.
Dunks by Plumlee and Grant and a layup by Plumlee made it 104-87 with two minutes remaining.
Devontae Cacok’s dunk ended the Lakers’ scoring drought. – Rappler.com
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