Detroit Pistons' flat start costly in 125-116 road loss to New Orleans Pelicans
The Detroit Pistons traveled to New Orleans with an opportunity to bounce back, following a humiliating blown 18-point lead at home Wednesday night.
The Pelicans were without three of their top five players — Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III. It didn’t matter — they led by as many as 25 points and defeated the Pistons, 125-116. Detroit (2-4) dropped its third straight game since winning its home opener on Saturday.
It was a poor defensive effort for the Pistons, allowing the Pelicans to shoot 48.8%, including 43.8% from 3. Already the NBA’s leader in personal fouls per game, the Pistons committed 31 on Thursday night. The Pelicans capitalized by going 33-for-35 at the line.
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Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 22 points and 11 assists, but also turned the ball over six times. Marcus Sasser scored a career-high 19 points and was the first substitution off of the bench, checking in for Killian Hayes midway through the first quarter. Ausar Thompson added 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists but shot just 5-for-17 while missing all six 3-point tries. Jaden Ivey added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Second-year big Jalen Duren returned after missing Wednesday’s game with an ankle sprain, but the Pistons were without veteran reserve Alec Burks for the second night in a row. Burks joined Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Livers and Monte Morris on the injury report.
CJ McCollum led all players with 33 points and five assists, and Jonas Valanciunas added 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
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Poor first half costs Pistons
It wasn't all bad early: The Pistons knocked down their first seven shots to take an early 17-15 lead. Cunningham got going with a pair of catch-and-shoot 3s and an assist to Thompson for a layup. Detroit then went abruptly cold.
The Pistons missed their next nine shots, going nearly five minutes without a bucket before Ivey got a 3-pointer to fall with 2:55 remaining in the first. In that stretch, the Pelicans scored 11 points to take a nine-point lead. Detroit shot 4-for-19 following that 7-for-7 run.
That early momentum never returned. Cunningham picked up his third foul with 10:14 to play in the second quarter and didn’t check back in until 33 seconds remained. With their leading scorer on the bench, the Pistons struggled to establish a rhythm and shot 8-for-25 in the second quarter, including 2-for-13 from 3.
The lead swelled to 25 when McCollum knocked down a pair of free throws with 22 seconds in the half. The Pelicans were shooting 60% up to that point, compared to the Pistons' 37.3%.
Ivey, Sasser spark late run
The Pistons looked lethargic and out-of-sync for most of the game. But Ivey and Sasser made the Pelicans compete down the stretch, leading a 13-2 run to close out the third quarter that cut New Orleans’ lead to 11 (94-83).
Sasser hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run, and Ivey closed it out by splitting a trip to the free throw line after blocking a 3-point attempt by Pelicans rookie sharpshooter Jordan Hawkins, then finishing a transition dunk following a steal by Hayes.
Sasser added three more 3-pointers in the fourth quarter — the second cutting the deficit to single digits, 111-103, with just over four minutes remaining. But the Pelicans stymied Detroit’s momentum with clutch shooting. Herbert Jones completed a 3-point play, and McCollum knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 13.
Detroit kept fighting. McCollum slipped on a wet spot on the court, and Sasser got the steal and layup to cut it to nine. With just under a minute remaining, Sasser hit his fifth and final 3 to bring the Pistons within seven. But that was as close as they could get, with a pair of free throws from Sasser cutting it back to seven with 8 seconds remaining.
The Pistons shot 48% in the final period, but their late run only took some of the edge off of a rough loss — their second in as many nights.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons stumble early in 125-116 loss to New Orleans Pelicans
