DETROIT— No matter the records, it’s a marquee game on the schedule when the Los Angeles Lakers come to town. It might have a little bit more sauce when the Lakers are the defending champions and the Pistons, struggling through their season, don’t have anything to lose.
Whatever it was, it was fun.
The Pistons played their best wire-to-wire game of the season and surprised the Lakers, surging to a 107-92 victory over the defending champs on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. It’s the second win in the last three games for the Pistons (5-14), who were on the second night of a back-to-back, like the Lakers.
Blake Griffin had his best game of the season with 14 of his 23 points in the second half.
Wayne Ellington had 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and Mason Plumlee added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lakers (14-6) were playing without Anthony Davis, but they were in it until the final minutes. The Pistons pulled away with a decisive 16-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, starting with Griffin’s 3-pointer, with two drives by Jerami Grant and a 3-pointer by Ellington.
That pushed an 88-87 lead with 8:40 left to a 104-87 lead at the 2:00 mark. After the Lakers ended the run, Ellington added his sixth 3-pointer, to put the game away.
