AUBURN HILLS, Mich. _ The Los Angeles Lakers have intriguing young talents.
They still need to get a big man to deal with the likes of Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond.
Drummond toyed with the Lakers frontline Wednesday night with 24 points, 17 rebounds, four blocked and three steals in leading the Pistons to a 121-102 victory at the Palace.
Drummond demolished the Lakers in only 28 minutes, as he sat for the entire fourth quarter. The Pistons (25-28) have won seven of 11.
Combine the effort with Monday night's blowout of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Pistons have taken care of business in holding on to the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot.
It was a fun night for the home crowd with fan favorite Boban Marjanovic finishing the game.
The highlight might have been when franchise great Isiah Thomas shared some Palace memories at halftime with the Pistons' time in Auburn Hills drawing to a close. The Pistons will move into Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit starting next season.
Jon Leuer scored 20 points on 9-for-17 shooting, Marcus Morris scored 14 and Tobias Harris added 19 off the bench.
Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith combined for 15 assists, as the six Pistons were in double figures.
Julius Randle and Lou Williams scored 17 points each for the Lakers (18-37).
Things get tougher before the All-Star break.
The San Antonio Spurs visit the Palace on Friday night. A two-game trip to Toronto and Milwaukee come up after that and the Dallas Mavericks visit the Palace to end the season's first half.
The Pistons struggled at the beginning.
Rookie Brandon Ingram, recently inserted into the starting lineup, nailed two early 3-pointers in scoring a quick eight points in staking the Lakers to an early 18-11 lead.
But the Lakers had the turnover bug, committing eight in the first quarter.
A Smith layup gave the Pistons a 25-24 lead with 21.6 seconds left in the first quarter.
But an Ivica Zubac free throw tied the game at 25 going into the fourth quarter.
The Pistons' lead steadily grew in the second quarter.
A Drummond layup off a Leuer assist gave the Pistons a 56-46 lead with 1:48 remaining in the first half.
Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. skied for a spectacular one-handed dunk off an offensive rebound to cut the halftime deficit to six, 56-50.
