Zach LaVine’s 3-point shooting. DeMar DeRozan’s midrange game. Domantas Sabonis’ rebounding ability and playmaking skills.
The Detroit Pistons didn’t have an answer for any of it in a 127-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
LaVine, DeRozan and Sabonis combined for 99 points to help the Kings conclude a six-game road trip with another impressive victory over an Eastern Conference playoff team. The win came on the second night of a back-to-back just 24 hours after the Kings prevented the Cleveland Cavaliers from clinching the No. 1 seed in the East.
“All three of them being all-around players, knowing the game and being versatile scorers, each one takes a lot of attention from the defense, and when all three are rolling, it’s tough,” Pistons guard Cade Cunningham said. “It takes a team effort, and we have to rebound the ball better.”
LaVine scored a season-high 43 points for the Kings (39-40), going 16 of 28 from the field and 8 of 11 from 3-point range after scoring 37 points in Sunday’s win over the Cavaliers.
DeRozan scored 37 points on 14-of-26 shooting. Sabonis recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as Sacramento moved one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for ninth in the Western Conference play-in race.
Cunningham scored 35 points for the Pistons (43-36), who have already clinched an automatic playoff berth in the East.
The Kings shot 51.6% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point range. They outrebounded the Pistons 50-37 with 18 offensive rebounds, leading to a 25-13 advantage in second-chance points.
“Our execution of our game plan was poor,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Understanding their personnel and their tendencies was poor, so that’s on us to be better. Obviously, those guys are elite basketball players who are really, really good, but if you allow them to play to their strengths, they become even better, and we didn’t do a good enough job of taking away their strengths tonight.”
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