Wayne Ellington on Thursday continued his hot hand, scoring 20 points as the Detroit Pistons rebounded from their worst loss of the season with a 107-92 upset of reigning NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers.
Center Mason Plumlee finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Blake Griffin tallied 23 points and Derrick Rose came off the bench to score 14 points as the last-place Pistons improved to 5-4 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
“I thought we were really good,” Griffin said. “I was proud of the way everybody played.”
Photo: AFP
The Pistons overcame a 20-point first half by LeBron James, then seized control down the stretch with a 19-3 scoring run.
Detroit cleaned up their defensive game after making 22 turnovers in a one-sided 122-107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
The Lakers lost back-to-back games for the first time, as they were held to less than 100 points after being forced to play without forward Anthony Davis, who was out with a bruised quadriceps.
The loss came just 24 hours after the Lakers suffered their first road loss, a nail-biting 107-106 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Los Angeles have now lost two straight after winning their first 10 games on the road to start the season.
Kyle Kuzma and James each scored 22 points for the Lakers, who are now 3-2 in their seven-game road trip.
James said that he does not get tired on long road trips, but hinted at some frustration with his teammates.
“Every team has long road trips,” said James, who had just two points after halftime. “We got to keep our minds fresh and our bodies fresh. Obviously, we haven’t done it in the last couple of games.”
Without Davis, the Lakers looked out of sorts, especially in the fourth quarter, when they were outscored 25-14.
“None of us are happy with how we played tonight,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We have been pretty good on the road, but tonight we couldn’t find it.”
James made his first seven shots, but said that he stopped shooting because he wanted to see more offense from the other Lakers.
“Early on I got it going. I still got to get my teammates the ball. We didn’t have many assists, so I tried to get the other guys involved in the game,” James said.
Griffin shot eight of 16 from the floor and dished out six assists after missing one game with an injury.
The Pistons led by eight points late in the first quarter, but James made a driving layup with one minute left to cut the Detroit lead to 34-31.
The Pistons drained two late three-pointers at the end of the second quarter, but guard Dennis Schroder sank a free throw with 28 seconds left to give the Lakers a 58-56 halftime lead.
Ellington drained six of nine from beyond the arc against his former team.
He nailed a three-pointer in the final two minutes to give the Detroit Pistons one of their biggest leads of the game, 107-91.
Ellington has made at least four three-pointers in each of his past seven games.
In Miami, Nicolas Batum scored 18 points to help the Los Angeles Clippers rally to a 109-105 win over the Miami Heat.
It was Miami’s fifth straight defeat, the longest losing streak in the NBA.
In Houston, Texas, Victor Oladipo scored 25 points and Christian Wood added a double-double as the Rockets erased an early 20-point deficit in a 104-101 defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers.
In Phoenix, Arizona, Mikal Bridges led seven Suns players in double figures with 20 points as the hosts snapped a three-game losing streak with a 114-93 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Additional reporting by Reuters
NETS SIGN PELLE
AFP, NEW YORK
The Brooklyn Nets on Thursday added an international big man to their “Big Three” lineup, signing free agent center Norvel Pelle to a contract.
Pelle, who turns 28 on Wednesday next week, will add rebounding depth, defensive skill and a talent for shot blocking to a squad that boasts superstar guards James Harden and Kyrie Irving, plus two-time Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant.
Pelle debuted for Lebanon at the 2017 Asia Cup and played for Taiwan’s Dacin Tigers in the SBL in the 2014-2015 season.
He spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, coming off the bench in 24 games, and averaging 2.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots in 9.7 minutes per game.
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