You have to hand it to these Portland Trail Blazers … they sure do keep things interesting.

The Blazers lost another starter to injury. They faced another beast in the East. They played in another “clutch-time” game.

And after a bombardment of fouls left them without multiple rotation players down the stretch, the Blazers left fans wondering aloud at home: Who’s left to play?

The answer: Not enough.

The Detroit Pistons defeated the Blazers 122-116 Friday night at Little Caesars Arena, surviving a tough, physical matchup heavy on fouls, free throws and intensity in Detroit.

Deni Avdija finished with 35 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Jerami Grant had 29 points and six rebounds and Shaedon Sharpe added 28 points off the bench. But it wasn’t enough for the shorthanded Blazers (9-14), who lost starting center Donovan Clingan (left leg bruise) to injury before the game and three more players to foul trouble in the fourth quarter.

“I thought that we fought hard,” Blazers active coach Tiago Splitter told reporters afterward. “We didn’t have enough to finish the game, to be honest. But overall, I’m proud of them. They fought. This is what we want to do every night.”

Well, maybe not exactly this.

The Blazers committed 35 personal fouls. They fumbled away 20 turnovers that led to 21 Pistons points. They shot 34% from three-point range.

But even so, they pushed the best team in the Eastern Conference to the brink of defeat in the third game of a five-game East Coast trip.

And after an inspiring series of plays that included a steal and breakaway dunk from Sharpe, an impressive block by Robert Williams III, a four-point play by Grant and a tough 14-foot jumper from Avdija, the Blazers stunningly sported a 108-103 lead with 3:27 left.

The Blazers were on an 11-0 run and had all the momentum.

But it didn’t last.

Duncan Robinson hit a pair of clutch three-pointers down the stretch and the Pistons made 11 of 12 free throws over the final three minutes, 21 seconds, delivering the hard-luck Blazers another defeat in a game featuring ”clutch-time” minutes — when the score is within five points in the final five minutes.

The Blazers, who fell to 6-9 in “clutch-time” games this season, made their share of miscues down the stretch. Sharpe airballed a baseline jumper. Kris Murray inexplicably committed a turnover on a sideline inbounds pass and fouled out on an off-ball offensive foul. Grant missed a three.

But the loss was perhaps more about the Pistons’ talent, the Blazers’ lack of bodies and a herky-jerky game that featured a litany of whistles.

The teams combined for 64 fouls, including 35 by the Blazers, and a whopping 82 free throw attempts, which included 48 by the Pistons. The slugfest lasted 2:42.

Toumani Camara, Sidy Cissoko and Murray fouled out and Williams — who started in place of the injured Clingan — was whistled for five fouls.

In the end, Detroit (18-5) capitalized on the calls, making 36 free throws, the sixth-most by any team this season. Cade Cunningham recorded 29 points and nine assists, and a hefty amount of his damage came at the free throw line, where he finished 13 of 14.

“At the middle of the second quarter, we all came together,” Detroit’s Ausar Thompson told reporters. “We said that we’re not going to worry about (referees), we’re just going to keep playing and not complain.”

The Blazers also feasted on fouls — they went 32 for 35 from the line — but for a team playing without all three of its point guards and its starting center, among others, the foul trouble proved to be a backbreaker.

Even some of the Blazers’ healthy players were hobbling around the court in Detroit. Avdija was spotted on the Blazers’ bench with a wrap around his right knee in the third quarter and also seemed to be favoring his left leg throughout the second half.

“No comment,” Splitter told reporters when asked about fouls.

Next up

The Blazers continue their five-game trip Sunday, when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum at 3 p.m.