SALT LAKE CITY — The Detroit Pistons shot 53 percent from the field, 46 percent from 3 and scored 148 points…and they still lost.
A disappointing, strange and mind-boggling season for Detroit only became more disappointing, weird and mind-boggling Wednesday night, at an elevation of 4,265 feet, as the Pistons and Utah Jazz played an NBA-All-type game. Star – with only one All-Star actually playing – it ended in overtime with Utah winning 154-148.
It’s only fitting that Detroit, which owns the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, would also be part of the craziest game of the season thus far. There were 11 leadership changes. Both teams shot 52.4 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3. Six players scored 25 or more points. Defense appeared to be optional and both sides withdrew.
“Games like this are tough,” said Cade Cunningham, who had 31 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and six turnovers in 39 minutes of action. “Taking that one away would have been huge for us. Losing is gone with the wind. No matter how we lost, it’s a recorded loss.
The Pistons (3-31) appeared poised to double their win total from the first two months of the season over the final five days as Detroit’s Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanović tried to see who could have the best game of revenge against their former team, as the two scored 23 of their combined 63 points in the fourth quarter.
Burks’ 3 with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left gave the Pistons a six-point lead. With 3:38 left, Bogdanović hit a fadeaway jumper that put Detroit up by four. Both looked like big moments in a game that featured several of them thus far. Neither has even scratched the surface.
With 32 seconds left in regulation, Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, who along with Bogdanović scored a game-high 36 points, effortlessly drove in another 3 points as if it were seven minutes into the first quarter time. Down. On the next possession, after Detroit nearly gave the ball back to the Jazz twice, Bogdanović stepped on a 25-footer over the outstretched arm of Walker Kessler. Down. Utah followed up with a Lauri Markkanen 3-point attempt, this one from 27 feet, with five seconds left and the Pistons having no timeouts. Down. The Pistons then gave the ball to Burks. He drove past half court, completed two dribbles and launched a running 3 as time expired. Down.
Both teams wanted to win and lose at the same time. The entire fourth quarter was an exercise in world-class recreational shooting and defense. This made for one of the most entertaining quarters of basketball in the NBA this season.
“I’m not even tired,” Bogdanović, 34, who played 42 minutes, said after the match. “I felt good. I didn’t even want to go out. Momentum (carries you). The arena is packed. It’s nice to play here.
The fun ended there, however, as the Jazz outscored Detroit 16-10 in overtime and never really threatened to lose in the extra period.
As outrageous and fun as the game was, the loss highlighted major lingering issues with the Pistons. To start, they gave up 154 points. Enough said. Detroit has consistently been one of the worst defenses in the league outside of the first two weeks of the season. Second, in regulation, the Pistons had 16 turnovers for Utah’s 30 points. Live ball turnovers have plagued Detroit all season. These two stats, in particular, have played and continue to play a significant role in Detroit’s horrible defensive numbers. Third, Detroit outscored the Jazz by five points in regulation, but Utah scored 25 second-chance points.
Aside from the terrible defense — which, again, seems even worse because the Pistons routinely hand the ball off to opponents like it’s the point of the game — Detroit often beats itself. It’s true. As bad as the Pistons’ record is, about half of those losses are due to high turnovers that often aren’t forced. Opponents’ second-chance points have deflated them several times this season.
But it’s easy to fool yourself into thinking that Detroit is right there, knocking on the door of a simply bad situation, as opposed to a historically bad situation. However, the Pistons are the “B-Rad G” of the NBA, shooting themselves in the foot but not realizing it until later.
Yes, Detroit might be about to get better. It’s possible. Maybe this will eventually overcome these self-inflicted wounds. But when is it fair to ask whether these elements are simply part of the fabric?
At 3-31, it feels like it’s more the latter than the former.
(Top photo by Jordan Clarkson: Rob Gray / USA Today)
