Cade Cunningham scored 27 points and dished out 11 assists as the visiting Detroit Pistons earned a 128-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers to spoil LeBron James’ 41st birthday.
Marcus Sasser put up 19 points, Isaiah Stewart scored 15 points and Jalen Duren added 14 points and eight rebounds as the Pistons avoided what would have been season-worst three-game losing streak. Detroit shot a season-best 63.2% from the floor while ending their Western Conference road trip with a 3-2 record.
The Pistons took charge with a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter to establish a 114-94 lead, then finished off the victory.
Luka Doncic registered 30 points and 11 assists for the Lakers, though he committed eight turnovers. James added 17 points while becoming just the 12th player in NBA history to take the floor at age 41 or older. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, played in his 1,577th career game, second to Robert Parish’s 1,611.
Although the Lakers managed to end a season-worst three-game losing streak with a victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, they lost four of their final five to close out the calendar year.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter but pulled even at 79-79 in the third on a three-point play by Doncic. The Pistons regained their footing and went up by as many as nine before taking a 96-88 advantage into the fourth.
Doncic departed to the locker room with less than two minutes remaining in the third while favoring his left shoulder. He returned to the bench before the start of the fourth and was back on the court with 10:10 remaining as Detroit led 99-90, but he shot 0-for-3 from the floor and committed two turnovers the rest of the way.
The Pistons had a far different look about them in the first half on Tuesday than they did on Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers in nearby Inglewood, Calif. They led 70-65 at the break against the Lakers after they trailed by 18 at the midway point two days earlier.
Cunningham had 20 points and eight assists at halftime on Tuesday after he was scoreless with three assists at the same point against the Clippers while dealing with early foul trouble.
