Los Angeles Lakers bounce back to rout Detroit, handing Pistons team-record 15th straight loss
During the morning warmups, LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers colleagues were extremely carefree, despite having just suffered a career-high 44 points against Philadelphia.
Maybe they knew it would be a simple night to recover.
They were correct, too.
The Pistons suffered their franchise-record 15th straight loss on Wednesday night as Los Angeles defeated Detroit 133-107 behind the 35 points scored by D'Angelo Russell, 28 by Anthony Davis, and 25 by James.
Before the game even began, Lakers coach Darvin Ham could see and hear that James was prepared to take the lead.
"He understands the energy he gives off," Ham stated.
James laughed and smiled at his teammates when he got shots off during warm-ups, but he ignored the observation.
"I'm pretty much always like that," he replied. "I have a lot of energy to give."
After the first quarter, the Lakers lead 38-24, shooting 60% to Detroit's 36%.
With three quarters remaining, the outcome against a league-worst 2-16 offensively challenged squad that doesn't play stout defense appeared certain.
"This team faces hardships," Pistons head coach Monty Williams remarked.
It has plagued the Pistons a great deal.
After sharing the record with three teams that went on 14-game losing streaks in 2021–22, 1993–94, and 1979–80 seasons, Detroit shattered it.
"My role is to support our players as they overcome this," stated Williams, who led Phoenix and New Orleans prior to taking the helm for his debut season. "I told our guys, one way you gain this respect in this game and in life is when you're going through a tough time, and you hang in there."
Cade Cunningham of Detroit scored fifteen points, Isaiah Livers, a reserve, scored fourteen, Isaiah Stewart scored twelve, and youngster Ausar Thompson scored twelve.
The defense was where the Pistons' issues began.
"The resistance in the pick-and-roll coverage, the resistance to start the game just wasn't there against D'Angelo," Williams stated.
After Los Angeles suffered the most lopsided defeat of his career, losing 138-94 to the 76ers, James stated that "a lot" needed to change on Monday night, starting with choosing the proper opponent to bounce back against.
"We had a good response," James stated. "We played a lot better."
The Lakers had a commanding lead for the majority of the game, but they did not cruise to a comfortable advantage. Russell and Davis each scored in double figures in the first quarter.
"D'Lo and AD got us started out with the hot streak they had in the first quarter, and we all picked it up off of that," James explained.
Twelve points came from Christian Wood, and ten points from rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino—who did not score in his NBA debut the night before.
With a young team that was anticipated to go better after winning an NBA-low 17 games the previous season, the Pistons have not won a game since improving to 2-1 on October 28.
"We've got to get the feeling we had the first week of the season," Williams stated.