The 1st quarter is where the game was won. The Lakers put up 38 and held Detroit to 14, and the Pistons, rested at home since the Philadelphia loss, looked like the team that had spent the weekend on a plane. LA kept attacking a frontcourt missing Jalen Duren and won the paint 58-46. They shot 50% for the night, 42-of-84. With Duren out until at least his re-evaluation in 2 weeks, there was nobody to make the Lakers pay for driving.
Reaves also got real help from the bench. Ziaire Williams and Collin Sexton each scored 17 as reserves, and that mattered once Detroit cut into the lead. LA led by 13 at halftime and by 7 after 3, and every Pistons run got answered just often enough. The Lakers improve to 9-2.
Detroit's comeback didn't come from the player the preview built its side around. Cunningham finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, well short of the 33-point and 26-point nights from his previous 2 games. Daniss Jenkins carried the scoring with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Kevin Huerter added 24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks, which was about as close as Detroit got to replacing Duren's rim protection. The Pistons outscored LA in each of the last 3 quarters and still lost, because a 24-point 1st-quarter hole leaves almost no room for error.
With Isaiah Joe also out, Detroit's shooting was thin and the creation fell mostly on Jenkins and Huerter while Cunningham had a quiet scoring night. That's 2 straight losses at home for the Pistons, now 6-3, and they come in very different ways. They were held to 106 against Philadelphia, then gave up 121 here and spent the night chasing. The defense that held Charlotte and Brooklyn under 95 gave up 38 in a single quarter to a team without its best player.
For the Lakers, this is the result that matters most beyond the win. A road game on the back of a cross-country trip, no Doncic, a 26-point lead almost gone, and they still closed it out. If the back keeps him out longer, they now know Reaves can carry them for a night.
