3 Takeaways from Detroit Pistons loss to Trailblazers

The Detroit Pistons fell victim to Dame Time, as Damian Lillard helped close the Pistons out down the stretch in a 117-112 loss for Detroit.

The Detroit Pistons went up 109-103 with 4:28 minutes left in the fourth quarter.  Damian Lillard then led the Portland Trailblazers on a 12-0 run to take the lead at 115-109 with 1:13 to go.

The Pistons were up the majority of the second half and competed in what felt like a playoff game. Detroit now falls to 37-35, but they still hold onto the sixth seed.

In a game that was extremely fun for everyone watching, here are three takeaways from the Pistons loss.

The Big Three balled out

Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson showed up and showed out. The trio combined for 70 of the Detroit Pistons 112 points.

Griffin went to work early, ending the first half with 16 points. He finished the game with 27 points, six assists, three rebounds on 10-18 shooting from the field and 3-8 shooting from distance.

Jackson had the Detroit Pistons broadcasters, George Blaha and Greg Kelser, reminiscing on his 40 point explosion in Portland back in 2016. Jackson looked spry and even had an impressive dunk in this game. He ended the game with 24 points on 9-16 shooting from the field and 4-8 shooting from deep.

Jackson’s performance left me wondering why he only played 28 minutes. I understand Dwane Casey may be trying to manage his point guards minutes, but when Jackson is rolling like he was today I think it’s worth it to ride him a little longer.

Drummond was the only Piston player with more than three rebounds with 11 rebounds. The Detroit Pistons lost the board battle 42-29, which may have been the story of the game. He ended with 19 points, 11 rebounds, a steal, a block, and shot 7-7 from the free throw line!

Damian Lillard is a baaaaaaddddd man!

Lillard didn’t take a shot in this game till the 5:49 mark in the first quarter, but it came on a 30 foot bomb from deep. This was only a sign to come.

Lillard hit multiple threes from what Blaha was calling four-point range.

The Detroit Pistons trapped Lillard on every pick and roll, and Lillard made the right decision almost every time. It was beautiful to watch, honestly. Lillard ended the game with an efficient 28 points (9-16), nine assists, and six rebounds.

Each one of his nine assists felt like a hit to the Pistons gut, and really it doesn’t say how in control Lillard was all game. He routinely made the right pass out of the trap, which led to 4-on-3 basketball for the Pistons almost every possession.

After watching this game, it’s easy to understand why some people wrongly believe Jusuf Nurkic is better than Drummond. Lillard makes his teammates job so much easier, and really is one of the best players in the entire league.

Seth, not Steph, Curry is pretty good

Seth Curry came out and caused the Pistons problems off the bench for the Portland Trailblazers.

Curry showed off his impressive shooting ability (second in the league in three point percentage), and played some impressive defense down the stretch on Ish Smith and Luke Kennard in crucial moments.

Curry finished this game with 16 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes, which once again, is more rebounds than anyone else on the Detroit Pistons outside of Drummond. He shot 5-9 from the field, and with CJ McCollum out for the Blazers, Curry did a fine job providing a spark from guard spot.

Golden State tomorrow

This loss, even though the Detroit Pistons played pretty well, is going to hurt them. They have to travel to Oracle tomorrow to take on the Golden State Monstars on a back end of a back-to-back.

The Warriors got destroyed by the Dallas Mavericks last night (shout out to Dirk Nowitzki for going back in time for that game), and will most certainly be looking to make a statement after such a loss.

The game will come on at 8:30 pm on Fox Sports Detroit.