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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Sport
Vince Ellis

Pistons' losing streak hits 7 after 103-84 defeat to Nuggets

DETROIT _ Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy decided to let the team watch video of their good play earlier in the season as a response to the team's six-game losing streak.

And they did it away from the prying eyes of the coaching staff.

Van Gundy might just want to delete the file after the Pistons' latest loss.

The Denver Nuggets, a bottom-10 defensive team, held the Pistons to 35.6 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers in roaring to a 103-84 victory _ the Pistons' seventh straight loss.

The Pistons' 14-6 start and early-season success story has completely flipped in the span of 12 days.

The Pistons (14-13) have played one of the toughest schedules in the NBA, but the Nuggets were supposed to provide some relief since they were missing two top players in center Nikola Jokic (ankle) and Paul Millsap (wrist).

But the Nuggets (15-12) broke the game open in the third quarter in racing to a 22-point lead, largely against the Pistons starters.

Langston Galloway led the Pistons with 18 points off the bench.

Van Gundy replaced Stanley Johnson in the starting lineup with Reggie Bullock, who finished with six points in 22 minutes. Johnson didn't enter the game until the second half and he was scoreless in 14 minutes.

Andre Drummond scored five points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but committed six turnovers.

Jamal Murray scored 28 points for the Nuggets, who moved to 2-3 on their six-game trip.

The Pistons have struggled mightily in the losing streak with starters Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris having cooled considerably since the team's 14-6 start.

And they were dreadful against the Nuggets.

They combined to shoot 2-for-17 and committed seven turnovers.

Harris was 0-for-7 and finished with two points. Bradley was 2-for-10 and finished with six points.

Bradley missed the morning shoot-around with an illness and stayed home to rest.

He got the start, but struggled mightily in the first half, dribbling into traffic, which led to turnovers.

Van Gundy said backup center Eric Moreland also was ill, but he was able to participate in shoot-around.

Boban Marjanovic energized the crowd with his scoring in the post in the first half.

Teammates made a concerted effort to lob him the basketball when he had good position and he delivered with 11 points and three rebounds in 9 minutes in the first half.

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