New Orleans — For the second time in a week, the Pistons had a solid chance against a struggling team with a losing record. In each game, they had a double-digit lead, only to see it evaporate.
The result was another bad performance to another sub-.500 team, as the New Orleans Pelicans rallied in the second quarter and dominated in the second half on the way to a 109-93 victory on Friday night at Smoothie King Center.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans forward Garrett Temple in the first half.
Trey Lyles had 18 points — one off his season high — and five rebounds, Cade Cunningham added 16 points and four assists and Hamidou Diallo 11 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons (4-21) who lost their 11th straight game.
BOX SCORE: Pelicans 109, Pistons 93
The Pistons had a hot start to the game, opening 6-of-9 on 3-pointers and racing to a 26-17 lead in the first seven minutes. Jerami Grant, Cunningham and Saddiq Bey each hit a 3-pointer, fueling a 13-2 run. The Pelicans (8-20) answered with a 3-pointer from Brandon Ingram (26 points) and two free throws from Josh Hart (14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists).
Bey hit back-to-back 3-pointers on the Pistons’ next two possessions and Lyles hit another 3-pointer for the nine-point lead at the 5:12 mark.
Lyles started the second quarter with seven consecutive points, on a drive, a 3-pointer, and a tip-in, and the Pistons led, 39-25. Jonas Valanciunas (17 points and 11 rebounds) split a pair of free throws and Cory Joseph answered with a jumper.
After a lay-in by Hart, the Pistons matched their largest lead of the game, 43-28, at the 8:32 mark on a highlight-reel dunk by Diallo.
The Pelicans started chipping away, with Ingram scoring 11 points — including a four-point play that closed the lead to one — and Valanciunas eight points through the final six minutes of the half. They accounted for 19 of the final New Orleans points of the quarter, as they took a 54-53 lead on two free throws by Ingram with 1:10 remaining.
Isaiah Stewart’s basket with 51.1 seconds left gave the Pistons the lead, 55-54, at halftime.
That’s where things turned.
More: Pistons look to flip the script at the free-throw line
The Pelicans started the third quarter with a 10-0 run, with a basket by Valanciunas, a 3-pointer by Devonte Graham and a lay-in and 3-pointer by Herbert Jones (10 points). Cunningham ended the spurt with a 3-pointer, but the Pelicans added on nine more points, pushing the lead to 73-58 at the 4:48 mark.
The Pistons started 1-of-14 from the field in the second half, and they finally got another shot to fall with Frank Jackson’s 3-pointer with 4:26 left. The hole had gotten too big, and the lead at the end of the quarter was 83-67, after the Pistons shot 5-of-24 from the field and just 2-of-9 on 3-pointers.
