LA Lakers Post 20 Blocks, Rout Detroit Pistons 106-99

The Los Angeles Lakers posted their 29th win of the season after defeating the Detroit Pistons at the Staples Center this Sunday night 106-99. The purple and gold were eventually a better side, but the guests from Michigan didn’t want to go down without a solid fight.

“We found a way to win and it started with our defense,” Anthony Davis said.

They would create a lot of problems for the hosts, and in some moments, Detroit was coming after LAL pretty hard. That was especially obvious in the third period, once Dwane Casey’s boys outscored the rivals 32-19.

The result coming into the fourth was 79-75 for the Pistons, but the Lakers made a 15-0 run which lasted for 4:39, during which they stunned the guests, and regained the lead and the control of the game, 90-79.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqBVMqlYrOE

But that was just temporary, as Detroit responded with a 13-2 burst to tie the game at 92-all with 4:41 to go. From that moment on, Anthony Davis scored 11 points and carried his team to victory. And especially important ones were with 1:28 left when he hit a three-pointer.

AD would end the night with fantastic 8 blocks, 24 points, and 11 boards, whooting 7 for 16 from the field. The Lakers had 20 rejections tonight, something not seen in a while here at the Staples. JaVale McGee added six, and Dwight Howard had 5. It was the first time since November 7, 2001, that one team had 20 or more blocks in one contest. The last ones to achieve this were the Toronto Raptors.

“That’s it really, just protecting the rim,” Anthony Davis said. “Every time they came in there, we just tried to play without the foul and beat them at the top.”

Lebron James posted another triple-double with 21 buckets, 11 assists, and 14 boards, while Alex Caruso came off the bench to deliver 13 points and his usual dose of bursting energy.

Among the Piston, Derrick Rose was especially inspired to play tonight. The youngest MVP ever scored 28 points in 29 minutes, added 5 assists, and had one block of his own. Detroit’s starters scored 34 points, with Tony Snell and Tim Fraizer staying at zero. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added 14 and Langston Galloway 13 off the bench.

The Pistons (13-24) played five games on their Western tour so far, and they have four losses and a win. They would suffer defeats against the Spurs, Jazz, Clippers, and now the Lakers while beating only the injury-prone Warriors.

Anthony Davis' 8 blocks are the most by a Lakers player since Shaq in 2003 (9) ✋ pic.twitter.com/IoR2KksvXD

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 6, 2020

LAL (29-7) posted five wins in a row following a loss against the Clippers in the local derby. They are looking good, and that especially refers to Davis, who averaged 27.8 points, 10.6 boards, and 2.2 blocks with 56.8% shooting from the field during that stretch. He especially made his presence noticeable with ferocious alley-oop dunks.

“They try to test me to see how high I can jump,” Davis was kidding on the comment that his teammates just throw the ball near the rim, and he always shows up there to dunk.

After this game, the Lakers will play against the New York Knicks this Tuesday, and after that, go to Dallas to meet the Mavericks. Following the match in Texas, the LAL visits Oklahoma City Thunder.

On the other side, the Pistons have one more stop before coming back home. It is in Cleveland, and it precedes a three-game homestand during which Casey’s guys meet Cavs, Bulls, and the Pelicans.