New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Pistons - Game 22

New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Pistons – Game 22

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (11-11)  |  Detroit Pistons (4-16)

 

The Los Angeles Lakers won a close game against the Detroit Pistons at home 110-106.

 

When we last saw the Lakers play the Pistons, LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart provided a candidacy for NBA fight of the year that resulted in the two players receiving suspensions for their roles in the incident. Both suspensions ran out before this meeting, as this time, the game is in the City of Angels.

The game began with no score in the first minute, although the Pistons drew early blood after a Russell Westbrook free throw to open the scoring. Stewart and Jerami Grant accounted for an early 7-0 run that lasted 1:04 until Anthony Davis stopped the run with a driving slam. Davis followed up his dunk with a two-pointer, followed by a James slam to tie the game.

The two teams did not let each other out of sight, as the lead in the game was no bigger than three points for either side. The Lakers led or tied for most of the remaining seven minutes of the first quarter, although the team was able to inch ahead by the first buzzer, taking a 23-21 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter opened with more intensity in both teams keeping the other team honest throughout the contest. Halfway through the quarter, the Lakers began to build a little momentum. Leading by four, James hit a three to put Los Angeles up by seven. The Pistons brought it right back in with an 8-0 run to retake a two-point lead thanks to points from Cade Cunningham, Stewart, and Grant. With under three minutes remaining, the Lakers got the lead back thanks to a driving layup from Westbrook.

James hit both of his free throws following a Cunningham foul to put the Lakers back up by three, but Grant threw a dunk down in response. Two possessions later, Westbrook answered with a driving layup that would end the scoring for the first half.

 

Back-and-forth scoring showed no advantage for either team as the Lakers held steady with a 51-48 lead.

 

The beginning of the third quarter saw a threequel as, once again, the teams did not let the opposition get comfortable. After Grant tied the game at 56, the Lakers began to go on a big run. Following a two-pointer from James, Davis hit a three to extend the lead to five. James and Westbrook scored points on the next two possessions, and DeAndre Jordan got in on the act with an alley-cop slam. A three from James and a dunk from Davis capped off a 16-0 run for the Lakers.

With the lead at 16, the pressure was applied by Los Angeles. The team led by as many as 19 after a Talen Horton-Tucker three. Detroit tried to chip into the lead a little bit in the last minute of the third quarter as Grant hit a mid-range jumper, followed by Hamidou Diallo and Trey Lyles scoring two points apiece. A Horton-Tucker layup slipped in between the chip-in as the third quarter ended with the Lakers up by 13 after finally having a solid third quarter.

Lyles started the fourth quarter following a Westbrook free throw with a three that cut the lead to 11. Westbrook and Lyles traded two points apiece, but Horton-Tucker sank a step-back jumper to rebuild the lead to 13. Four minutes into the quarter, after a Wayne Ellington three put the Lakers up by 17, The Pistons started chipping away at the lead once again. After being fouled from downtown, Frank Jackson hit three free throws and followed it up with a three on the next possession to score six straight points for the Pistons. Killian Hayes scored two points just before halfway through the quarter to cut the lead to nine.

Suddenly the lead fell to six thanks to a Cunningham three with 5:48 left, making this game close again just like the entire first half. Davis and James elevated the lead back to 10 with four minutes remaining in the quarter. The lead fluctuated between six and ten up until the quarter’s final seconds, as Grant took a foul and made both free throws to cut the lead to four with 16.7 seconds remaining. James made one of two free throws off an intentional foul, while Grant threw a dunk down off a timeout with 2.1 seconds left to make it a three-point game, but the Pistons had to foul quickly.

Hayes fouled Horton-Tucker with 0.9 seconds left, putting Horton-Tucker in a position where just one successful free throw will win the game. Horton-Tucker sank the first free throw, which ultimately sealed the game as the Lakers won an intensely contested game by a score of 110-106.

Los Angeles ended with four players scoring in double digits, led by James with a game-high 33 points, followed by Westbrook with 25 points, Davis dropping 24 points and grabbing ten rebounds, and Horton-Tucker adding 12 points off the bench.

The Pistons had five players score in double digits, headed by Grant with 32 points, with the next best scorer on the night being Jackson with 17 points off the bench. Cunningham scored 15 points and hauled 11 rebounds, while Lyles scored 13 points, and Diallo added 10 points.

 

The next Lakers game will take place in Sacramento against the Kings on Tuesday. The game will start at 7:00 and can be seen on Spectrum SportsNet.

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– Matt Dobbs – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Matt on Twitter @RecordBowlerFSM

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