DETROIT \u2014 The Detroit Pistons\u2019 shortage of playmakers finally came back to bite them. <\/p>\n
Missing four of their top six scorers, the Pistons maintained a lead until late in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers, but watched a 14-point lead disappear and end in a 98-92 loss Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena.<\/p>\n
The Pistons got 20 first-half points from Duncan Robinson and an energetic performance from Ron Holland (16 points and eight rebounds) off the bench, but they shot just 37% from the field with 16 turnovers in the second half that kept them from holding on.<\/p>\n
Detroit was without Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart for the matchup. Despite a decent showing from two-way big Tolu Smith (nine points, 14 rebounds and four blocks) the Pistons offense was sloppy down the stretch and came away with a defeat.<\/p>\n
It was Robinson from early on as he started the game 5-of-5 from the field with 13 points in under six minutes.<\/p>\n
The Pistons were playing lock-down defense and began 7-of-8 as a team to build out an early 16-3 advantage. That defense came in handy as the Pistons then went over five minutes without a basket, going 0-for-8 in that stretch.<\/p>\n
Detroit was clogging up passing lanes and it wasn\u2019t just the usual suspects. Javonte Green and Ausar Thompson had four and two steals, but Paul Reed added five and Daniss Jenkins a pair, as well.<\/p>\n
The Pistons finished the game with 18 steals and 13 blocks, pitching in for a total of 21 turnovers by the Clippers.<\/p>\n
Caris LeVert finally ended the poor run with a jumper and helped spur on an 8-2 run to finish the first quarter up 28-14. That tied Detroit\u2019s best defensive quarter of the season with the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 20<\/p>\n
Even without their defensive leader, Stewart, the Pistons held the Clippers to 26% shooting from the field and an 0-for-6 start from deep.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles began to find some offense in the second as 7-foot Ivica Zubac began backing down the smaller Reed in the paint, but both bigs picked up three fouls midway through the second.<\/p>\n
Kawhi Leonard converted a four-point play to cut the Detroit lead to single digits late in the half, but Robinson drained his fifth three-pointer of the game to cap off a 20-point half and push the Pistons out to a 55-41 lead at the break.<\/p>\n
Robinson took just one shot in the second half.<\/p>\n
The Clippers came out swinging with a 10-0 run and James Harden\u2019s first make form deep \u2014 after an 0-of-4 start \u2014 to quickly put the Pistons on their heels.<\/p>\n
With Detroit\u2019s offense struggling, the Clippers pulled as close as two points. But timely makes from Green and a wild effort from Holland to chase down a loose ball that he turned into a steal and assist to LeVert on the other end allowed the Pistons to maintain a distance of eight point headed to the fourth.<\/p>\n
Holland continued to light things up for the Pistons with his unique athleticism and energy, ending a 7-0 run in the fourth with an emphatic transition windmill dunk.<\/p>\n
However, the Clippers had another run in them to suck all the energy away from Detroit, scoring 12 unanswered points that pulled them back within one possession.<\/p>\n
Reed worked to get some points back on the board, but also had a key foul call go against him late and was called for a technical on his way to the bench with five fouls. <\/p>\n
Harden soon tied the game, finishing a floater and drawing the foul from Robinson to level the matchup at 90.<\/p>\n
Any chance at getting the win was soured when the Pistons turned the ball over three times over the course of one minute and allowed the Clippers enough opportunities to secure the win.<\/p>\n