Blake Griffin, Pistons Beat Lakers as Lonzo Ball Flirts with Triple-Double
The Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 112-106 at home Monday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Reggie Jackson had a team-high 20 points and three assists, while Andre Drummond posted a double-double (15 points, 18 rebounds). Blake Griffin fouled out in the fourth quarter after scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Lonzo Ball narrowly missed out on a triple-double for the Lakers after registering 15 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
In his previous two games, Ball shot 7-of-28 from the field, including 2-of-18 from beyond the arc. SB Nation's Silver Screen & Roll and Fox Sports' Skip Bayless were happy to see Ball operate closer to the basket Monday night:
The rookie point guard did well to create scoring opportunities for teammates, as well as himself, off the dribble.
Considering his foul trouble limited him to 24 minutes against what used to be his crosstown rival, Griffin likely won't look back on Monday's game too fondly.
In one specific sequence he'll want to forget, Griffin got bodied by Julius Randle on a dunk in the first quarter. Randle attacked Griffin and shrugged him aside before throwing down a two-handed jam. The Lakers shared a replay of the dunk:
Griffin did, however, hit a big shot with 3:32 left in the game. His three-pointer gave Detroit a 102-93 lead and ended what had been a three-minute scoring drought for the Pistons. That bucket essentially put the game out of reach for the Lakers, who struggled to score outside of the paint.
Los Angeles was reduced to fouling Drummond in order to close the gap, and Drummond responded by sinking four straight free throws. The two-time All-Star was shooting a career-high 60.9 percent from the charity stripe, so the Detroit News' Rod Beard questioned whether the strategy makes sense anymore:
Lakers head coach Luke Walton will likely look back on this game as a missed opportunity.
Neither Jackson nor Drummond was very efficient, with the pair combining to shoot 14-of-38 for the Pistons, and the presence of Drummond didn't prevent Los Angeles from having a 54-40 scoring advantage in the paint.
Los Angeles also wasted good showings from Ball, Julius Randle (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Kyle Kuzma (20 points, 11 rebounds).
With Monday's defeat, the Lakers are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. They now sit 9.5 games back of the eighth-seeded Utah Jazz with nine more games remaining in their regular season.
Nobody expected this Lakers team to reach the postseason, so their 32 wins—their most since 2012-13—offer plenty of optimism for the future.
For the Pistons, Monday's victory keeps their slim playoff hopes alive, but Detroit still faces a steep mountain to climb in order to get into the top eight of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons closed the gap between them and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat to five games.
Especially after the team acquired Griffin, failing to make the playoffs could carry major consequences for head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy.
