SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ After the roster moves of the past few weeks, the Pistons have very little margin for error with injuries.
They could least afford an injury to another one of their starters _ and an injury to Derrick Rose was about the worst news they could get.
A 21-point advantage in the first quarter wasn't enough to hold up without Rose, who suffered an injured right ankle in the second quarter, as the Sacramento Kings surged in the second half, taking their first lead in the third quarter and holding on for a 106-100 victory on Sunday night at Golden 1 Center.
It's the eighth loss in the last nine games for the Pistons (20-42), who finished their western road trip with a 1-3 mark. The severity of Rose's injury is unclear, but after being examined by team medical staff, he went to the locker room and didn't return to the game.
Christian Wood had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Brandon Knight 16 points and seven assists and Svi Mykhailiuk 14 points and six rebounds for the Pistons.
De'Aaron Fox had 23 points and seven assists, Buddy Hield 19 points and six rebounds off the bench and Bogdan Bogdanovic 15 points and four steals for the Kings (26-34).
The Pistons steamed ahead, 18-1 to open the game, with a 16-0 run after Fox split a pair of free throws on the Kings' opening possession. Rose led the surge, with all nine of his points. They extended the lead to 27-6 at the 4:06 mark on back-to-back 3-pointers by Mykhailiuk and Knight.
The Kings followed with an 8-0 run, with two baskets by Nemanja Bjelica. They trimmed the lead to 31-16 after the first quarter and 51-50 at halftime.
