In a battle between two struggling teams, the Los Angeles Lakers came out on top, beating the Detroit Pistons, 93-85, to sweep the season series 2-0. It was a close contest throughout, but the Lakers were in control for most of the game.
In the first quarter, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe were the catalysts for the Pistons, combining for 16 points on 8 of 12 shooting. For the Lakers, Jordan Hill caught fire early, putting in eight points on 4 of 6 shooting. Jordan Clarkson was the one setting the table throughout the quarter, as he had five first quarter assists.
The Lakers led by five at the end of one, but the Pistons quickly overcame the deficit to momentarily take a one point lead, which ended up being their biggest lead of the game. During the course of the game, every time the Pistons inched closer, the Lakers made a small run to push the lead back up.
The struggles continued for newly acquired Reggie Jackson. He shot 1 for 9 from the field and totaled two points, three assists, and two rebounds in 22 minutes. Jackson wanted to be traded to a new team to prove that he can become a star but has failed miserably since joining Detroit. With this loss, the Pistons are now on a seven-game losing streak and 1-7 since adding Jackson to their lineup.
Greg Monroe led all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds on 10 of 14 shooting, but he missed two crucial free throws down the stretch when the Pistons were down three with 1:08 remaining in the contest.
Jordan Hill led the Lakers with 16 points and three rebounds, as he hit a clutch jumper with 49 seconds left on the clock to make it a two possession game. He also sunk a pair of free throws to completely put the game out of reach.
All Laker starters scored in double figures, as Wesley Johnson pushed in 13 points and Wayne Ellington added 11 to go with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Tarik Black and Jordan Clarkson scored 10 apiece to go with eight rebounds and eight assists, respectively. Meanwhile, Ed Davis brought his usual energy off the bench, putting in 13 points and six rebounds on 6 of 8 shooting in just 18 minutes.
Andre Drummond put together a monster rebounding night once again, gobbling down 21 boards and scoring 14 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in 15 points, including four three-point buckets, while Jodie Meeks came off the bench to put in 12 points, three assists, and two steals against this former team.
The Pistons, who are second to last in free-throw percentage, made just 68.4 percent of their attempts tonight, while the Lakers shot 86.7 percent, going plus-13 from the line. Detroit was also inefficient from the field, hitting 38.6 percent of their shots.
The Lakers snapped their five-game losing skid, but despite the win, they have been officially eliminated from playoff contention since the New Orleans Pelicans won earlier in the night. This is the earliest the Lakers have been eliminated since coming to Los Angeles. From now on, they will play spoilers to teams who are jockeying for playoff position.
Speaking of teams competing for a playoff position, the Pistons have been attempting to do just that but have been freefalling since the All-Star break. This loss puts them five and a half games behind the eighth seeded Charlotte Hornets when prior to the All-Star break, they were only two games back.
The road only gets tougher for the Pistons, as they head to Oakland tomorrow, March 11th, to face the top seeded Golden State Warriors. Afterward, they will play against the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Lakers, meanwhile, will play the worst team in the league, the New York Knicks, on Thursday, before playing the best team in the East, the Atlanta Hawks, on Sunday.