The Detroit Pistons don’t get mentioned much here. There’s a pretty good reason for that: they simply aren’t very good. They were, however, pretty good on Thursday night as they took full advantage of a strong fourth quarter and the absence of Anthony Davis to spring an upset of the defending champions. The Los Angeles Lakers fell 107-92 to the previously 4-14 Pistons, with Blake Griffin leading the scoring with 23 in what was far from the prettiest game of basketball you’ll ever see.
The Lakers got 22 from Kyle Kuzma to lead the way for them. LeBron James, who began the game by making seven consecutive baskets to put the Lakers on a roll early, ended up finishing with 22 points and ten assists. Those aren’t bad numbers in a vacuum, but having started so well it would have to be considered a disappointment to be held to just that amount. In the final quarter, the Pistons outscored the Lakers by 11, and they even had a 16-0 run in the last seven minutes to sure up the game, sending the purple and gold to their second away loss of the season in dramatic, traumatic fashion.
