-- The Pistons seemed to come into Los Angeles at the right time, as the two-time champion Lakers have suffered a series of uncharacteristic defeats.
However, reality set in and the Pistons were sent to their fourth straight loss Tuesday, 108-83 at the Staples Center, ending their disappointing three-game trip.
Perhaps the worst sign was when Kobe Bryant missed his first nine shots from the field -- yet the Pistons still trailed. They couldn't handle the inside tandem of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The Pistons squandered their momentum in the third quarter, a bugaboo for the season thus far.
"They have a lot of mismatches, a lot of great length," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "We had some good shots and didn't take advantage of every opportunity that slipped on us."
Bynum went perfect from the field (6 for 6) and Gasol led the Lakers with 21 points and seven rebounds.
The Lakers had lost three of the previous four, all by 15 points or more. Coach Phil Jackson publicly chastised Bryant for trying to take over games too often, and Bryant was upset with his teammates' lack of intensity.
"We have to really turn it around," Jackson said. "Sometimes we don't get the ball inside as often as we would like to."
Tracy McGrady, inspired by playing against his one-time friendly rival Bryant, controlled the game early and continued to show flashes of his old self (14 points, six assists). A series of nice passes to Greg Monroe and Richard Hamilton resulted in easy looks, as the Pistons shot 51 percent in the first 24 minutes.
They looked less like the team that lost in Phoenix on Friday and more like the group that defeated Boston a week ago.
The third quarter made that a distant memory.
The Pistons led by three at halftime, but the Lakers stormed out of the gate in the second half, and the Pistons left their energy in the locker room.
"They turned up the intensity, they're a championship team," McGrady said. "The last game on the road trip, guys are fatigued and want to get home. But we have to compete; this is our job."
Back-to-back 3s from Ron Artest and Derek Fisher started off a 14-2 Lakers run, and the Pistons never recovered. The Pistons also began turning the ball over and got the Lakers going.
"It was just careless turnovers, some of mine," said McGrady, who had six turnovers. "Our offense, we weren't moving the ball. One pass and a shot, we fueled their break. We didn't play smart."
Bryant shook off his bad early start to make six of his next nine, finishing with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The Lakers scored 63 second-half points and had 60 in the paint overall.
"The third period was tough to swallow," Kuester said. "(When) we're not scoring, it hurts. And we don't have the toughness every night to grind games out."
The two-time Finals MVP also passed NBA great Dominique Wilkins for 10th place on the all-time scoring list. Wilkins has 26,668 points; Bryant is now at 26,671.
The Lakers led by 29 points midway through the fourth quarter, with Shannon Brown and Luke Walton giving the crowd a reason to stay.
Monroe was the lone bright spot for the Pistons, with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Starters Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon combined for nine points.
Slam dunk
Michigan native Tom Gores, a candidate to buy the Pistons, was in attendance. Gores sat courtside near the Pistons bench with his two young daughters. Gores declined comment but reiterated his desire to own the team.
Gores was at the Pistons-Clippers game on Nov. 12, also at the Staples Center.
Jan. 5, 2010
