Los Angeles Lakers 121, Detroit Pistons 116: Reaves scores 43 as fast start holds
Austin Reaves scored 43 and a 38-14 first quarter carried the Lakers to a 121-116 win at Detroit as underdogs at +226.
The Lakers won the game in the first 12 minutes and spent the next 36 holding on. A 38-14 opening quarter at Little Caesars Arena built a cushion that reached 26 points, and Austin Reaves scored 43 to make sure the Pistons never got all the way back. Detroit outscored Los Angeles in each of the last three quarters and still never led.
The win moves the Lakers to 9-2. Detroit falls to 6-3.
How it was won
The first quarter was the game. Los Angeles scored 38 and held Detroit to 14, a 24-point swing that the Pistons spent the rest of the night chipping at.
The chipping started in the second. Detroit won the quarter 34-23 and cut the halftime deficit to 61-48. The third went 33-27 to the Pistons, leaving it 88-81 heading into the fourth. Detroit took the fourth 35-33, but a two-point edge was not enough. The Lakers closed it out 121-116.
Reaves carried the scoring: 43 points on 4-of-6 from three, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Ziaire Williams added 17 on 4-of-8 from deep, and Collin Sexton scored 17.
The box score shows how two very different games produced a close result. Both teams made 42 field goals. The Lakers took 84 shots to get there, the Pistons 94. Detroit lived outside, going 19-of-48 from three, a 24-point edge from distance over the Lakers' 11-of-28.
Los Angeles made up the difference inside and at the line. The Lakers scored 58 points in the paint to Detroit's 46 and went 26-of-33 on free throws against 13-of-20 for the Pistons, a 13-point margin at the stripe. Rebounding was even at 44-43.
The Lakers were loose with the ball, committing 16 turnovers to Detroit's 13, and had only 18 assists to the Pistons' 27. That sloppiness is part of why a 26-point lead shrank to five.
For Detroit, Daniss Jenkins scored 31 and hit 8-of-15 from three. Kevin Huerter added 24 with 5 assists. Cade Cunningham had 14 points and 8 assists but went 1-of-6 from deep.
Against the number
The market had Detroit as a clear favorite. The Pistons closed at -8.5 on the spread and -277 on the moneyline, with the Lakers at +226.
Los Angeles covered the 8.5 points easily and won outright, so the +226 price on the Lakers cashed.
The total closed at 216.5. The teams combined for 237, clearing the over by 20.5 points. The 52-point first quarter was below pace, but the 48 shots from three by Detroit and 59 free-throw attempts between the two sides pushed the scoring well past the line in the final three quarters.
The full closing prices are on the game page.
What's next
The Lakers leave Detroit at 9-2, having won four straight since the loss at Golden State. That run includes wins over Toronto, Miami, Sacramento and Portland, and now a road win as a sizeable underdog.
The Pistons drop to 6-3.
The next game for either team was not on the schedule data available at publication. Check each team's page for the next matchup and the price once the market opens.