New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Pistons - Game 18

New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Pistons – Game 18

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (9-9) | Detroit Pistons (4-12)

 

A wild melee broke out at Little Caesars Arena as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-game losing skid by defeating the Detroit Pistons 121-116.

 

The game went the first 1:09 without a score until LeBron James hit a short jumper to put up the game’s first points. Isaiah Stewart responded with the Pistons’ first points of the contest with a layup. The teams matched scores for the first five minutes until Anthony Davis threw a dunk down, followed by Talen Horton-Tucker’s successful jumper to put the Lakers up by six.

With 4:22 left in the opening quarter, the Pistons cut the lead in half as Saddiq Bey sank a three to make it a 20-17 ballgame. As the clock ticked to a minute left, Carmelo Anthony turned a one-point lead into a four-point lead with a three, only to be answered by Frank Jackson hitting a three of his own. Wayne Ellington ended the quarter with a three to keep Los Angeles ahead 30-26 after the first quarter.

Hamidou Diallo started the scoring for the second quarter with four points in the paint, while Dwight Howard had a layup in between sequences to keep the game’s margin at two points. The Pistons took their first lead on a Jackson three. After a Howard free throw tied the game at 33, Josh Jackson broke the tie with a short shot. Diallo extended the Pistons’ lead to four while Malik Monk hit a driving layup to respond to the score by Diallo. A three by Diallo four and a half minutes into the second quarter put Detroit up by as much as seven.

The Lakers roared back with an 8-0 run to take the lead by one point, with Anthony responsible for six of the eight points. The game remained close throughout the quarter until the 2:18 mark. After a pair of Russell Westbrook free throws put Los Angeles up by two, Jerami Grant kicked into high gear by sinking four straight three-point shots to put Detroit up by 10. The half ended with a Howard three, something that’s becoming more routine for the big center as of late to cut the deficit to seven.

 

The buzzer sounded to end the half with the Lakers trailing the Pistons 68-61.

 

The second half started the way the first half ended, with Grant scoring points as a long jumper extended the lead back to nine. James fought back with a three to make it a six-point game, but Detroit responded with a three from Bey and a driving dunk by Grant.

Following a free throw by Grant, James elbowed Stewart in the face, setting off a big fight between the two players. The two teams tried to keep the players separated, but a busted open Stewart continued to make charges at James through the lines of defense by his Pistons teammates and coaches. Stewart eventually sprinted to the locker room in anger as both he and James got tossed from the game for their roles in the incident that brought back Malice in the Palace vibes.

Once the game resumed, the Pistons continued to pour on the heat as Grant hit another three to extend the lead to 15 points. With five minutes remaining, Anthony nailed a three to bring the game within nine, only for Detroit to score six straight points to get the lead right back to 15. Los Angeles struggled again in the third quarter, as the score favored the red and blue squad 99-84 at the buzzer.

The fourth quarter started with the Lakers shooting out of a cannon with seven straight points in the first two minutes. Five minutes into the quarter, with Los Angeles down four, Westbrook sank a three to make it a one-point game, only for Frank Jackson to hit a three of his own. Around a minute later, the deficit became five thanks to an Anthony three.

 

With 2:41 remaining in the quarter, Westbrook floated in a layup to tie the game at 111, and Davis threw a dunk down to give the purple and gold their first lead since the second quarter. Davis sank a pullup jumper to extend the lead to three and later drove to a layup to put the Lakers up by five with 48 seconds left.

Following a Grant layup and two intentional foul free throws from Davis, a bad pass from Cade Cunningham led to a steal by AD. That play by Davis ended the game with the Lakers coming back to win a wild one in Detroit 121-116

The Lakers saw five players score in double digits, led by Davis with 30 points and ten rebounds. Westbrook came one rebound shy of a triple-double as he scored 26 points with ten assists. Anthony added 18 points, including five threes, off the bench while Howard dropped 13 points, and James’ night ended early with 10 points after being tossed from the game.

The Pistons also had five double-digit scorers, led by Grant with a game-high 36 points, followed by Diallo with 17 points off the bench. Frank Jackson had 15 points to his credit, while Bey scored 14 points, and Cunningham ended with a triple-double having 13 points, 12 rebounds, and ten assists.

 

The next Lakers game will be on Tuesday as the team heads to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks. The game will begin at 4:30 and can be seen live on TNT and Spectrum SportsNet.

 

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– Matt Dobbs – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Matt on Twitter @RecordBowlerFSM

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