The Detroit Pistons drop to a three-game losing streak after a slow start against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Why It Matters For the Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons dropped their third straight loss after falling to the New Orleans Pelicans 125-116. Detroit got off to a really slow start in the first half on offense as well as defense. The Pelicans even built up a lead as big as 25 early along with a halftime lead of 72-49.
The Pistons have dealt with a bad habit of allowing their opponents to get up to big leads early. As a young team learning to win, the hardest way to develop that consistency is burying themselves with a giant deficit early.
Detroit battled from the large margin by cutting the lead to single digits a few different times in the second half. Rookie Marcus Sasser led the comeback charge for the Pistons by scoring all of his 19 points in 23 minutes.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 22 points on 8-22 shooting along with 11 assists. Cunnigham struggled again with ball control dishing six turnovers. Ball movement has been a helpful staple to the Pistons' success this season. Detroit contributed 30 assists but also turned the ball over to New Orleans 16 times.
The Pistons were also plagued by another night of aggressive whistles by the officials. There were 31 fouls called against the Pistons while 18 fouls were called against the Pelicans. Six different Pistons were locked in foul trouble with at least four fouls against New Orleans.
New Orleans came into this matchup resting their two best scorers Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Williamson was on scheduled rest due to a back-to-back and Ingram is healing from knee tendinitis.
Even without the Pelicans' top scorers, Detroit still surrendered big nights to alternate scorers C.J. McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas, Herb Jones, and Matt Ryan. McCollum led the game in scoring with 33 points while shooting 10-23 from the field and 10-11 from the free throw line.
Detroit Pistons Vs. New Orleans Pelicans By the Numbers
Largest Lead: Pistons – 2 Pelicans – 25
Free Throw Shooting: Pistons – 21/26 Pelicans – 33/35
Fouls: Pistons – 31 Pelicans – 18
Rebounds: Pistons – 48 Pelicans – 36
Offensive Rebounds: Pistons – 19 Pelicans – 7
Cade Cunningham: 22 points, 8-22 FGs, 11 assists, 6 turnovers
Marcus Sasser: 19 points, 6-10 FGs, 5-8 3-point FGs
Ausar Thompson: 16 points, 5-17 FGs, 7 rebounds
Jalen Duren: 12 points, 5-8 FGs, 5 fouls
Jaden Ivey: 12 points, 4-6 FGs, 7 rebounds
Isaiah Stewart: 11 points, 3-7 FGs, 8 rebounds
What They're Saying
What's Next?
The Detroit Pistons will have the next two days off before they take on the Phoenix Suns at home this Sunday at 3 P.M. Phoenix is currently 2-3 with elite scoring fire power that will test the Pistons on both sides of the ball.
