Pistons at Lakers
After finishing up a difficult road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers seek their first taste of success at home when they host the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. The Lakers, who are 0-3 at Staples Center, dropped the final four games of a five-game trip after a 90-82 setback at Dallas on Friday, getting almost no production outside of Kobe Bryant - who had missed the previous two games - and Jordan Clarkson.
Those two combined for 40 points while making 16-of-33 shots, but their teammates shot 23.6 percent in the team's worst effort from from the floor (33 percent). "I felt OK," Bryant told reporters. "It's frustrating ... but I thought we took a step in the right direction." The Lakers have been heading in the right direction against Detroit for years, having won seven straight encounters since the Pistons produced an overtime win in 2012. Detroit began its two-day stay in Los Angeles with a 101-96 loss against the Clippers on Saturday, its ninth straight setback against the other Staples Center tenants.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (5-4): Detroit won the first two games of its six-game road trip but has dropped the last three and would fall to .500 for the first time this season with a loss in the finale of the voyage. The league's worst foul-shooting team has made only 47-of-70 at the line and 22-of-78 from beyond the arc during the slide, seeing its 3-point percentage tumble to 31.1 percent - just a shade below the 25th-ranked Lakers. Andre Drummond has not been slowed down in the losing streak, pushing his run of consecutive double-doubles to begin the season to nine with 18 points and 19 rebounds against the Clippers.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (1-8): Coach Byron Scott was at least encouraged by one aspect of his team's loss in Dallas as Los Angeles held a 57-48 advantage on the glass and limited the Mavericks to seven offensive rebounds. The Lakers let Orlando slip in for 23 offensive boards in the previous game and allows opponents to haul in the sixth-highest total in that category (12.2), leading to a league-high 18.3 second-chance points. Brandon Bass had his best game in a Los Angeles uniform with seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 18 minutes off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bryant has averaged 22.9 points in 31 career games against Detroit, his lowest mark against all but two other NBA teams.
2. Drummond went 3-of-23 at the foul line over a four-game span before making a more respectable 6-of-14 against the Clippers.
3. Clarkson is averaging 17 points on 51.4 percent shooting at home, compared to 14.2 and 45.7 on the road.