Detroit Pistons are bad but Kings are 21 points worse in sixth consecutive loss
Andre Drummond didn’t play Wednesday night and Blake Griffin has been out for weeks after undergoing season-ending surgery on his knee, but the Detroit Pistons still had their way with the struggling Kings.
Derrick Rose had 22 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to lead Detroit to a 127-106 victory over Sacramento at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.
Christian Wood scored a game-high 23 points for the Pistons (17-28). Reggie Jackson came off the bench to score 22 in his first game since Oct. 24.
De’Aaron Fox scored 22 points to lead the Kings (15-29). Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 points. Nemanja Bjelica had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The Kings led 27-26 at the end of the opening period, but they were outscored 31-23 in the second quarter and 36-25 in the third. They made a bit of a run to cut an 18-point deficit to 11 early in the fourth, but the Pistons outscored them 13-3 over a span of 2:01 to take a 106-85 lead with 8:14 remaining.
The Kings committed 28 personal fouls, sending the Pistons to the free-throw line 44 times. The Kings shot 23 free throws and only made 12.
“That was about as frustrating as it gets,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “Basketball is a simple game — defend without fouling, make the right play and knock down shots early. I feel like we didn’t do any of those things. Now I don’t know where our competitive spirit was or, because of injuries, we thought the game might be easy, but they’ve got a lot of good players on that team. That team beat Atlanta a couple days ago by 30, so I don’t know what went into that effort by us tonight, but we need to fix it or this road trip is going to get worse and worse. I don’t think anyone in that locker room is happy about it. The coaching staff is not happy about it. We’ve got to fix it.”
New additions
Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver made their Kings debuts a day after the team officially acquired them and two second-round draft picks from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchangefor Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan.
Kings coach Luke Walton said before the game he wasn’t sure how much he would use Bazemore and Tolliver, but both checked in for the first time with 3:16 to play in the opening period.
“They’re available,” Walton said. “I don’t know how much I’ll play them, but they know to be ready and we’ll get them out there at some point throughout the game. We’re looking forward to seeing what they can bring and help our team with.”
Bazemore finished with seven points and three rebounds in 16 minutes. Tolliver was scoreless in six minutes but had a nice assist on a dunk by Harry Giles III.
‘Cautious’ Kings sit Bagley
Marvin Bagley III was held out of Wednesday’s game due to left foot soreness. Walton said Bagley experienced soreness after posting 15 points and 15 rebounds in Monday’s loss to the Miami Heat.
A team source said some residual soreness was expected after Bagley recently missed eight games with a sprained foot. Walton said the team was taking a cautious approach with the 20-year-old big man.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s nothing new or major, just being cautious with it,” Walton said. “The next day after that Miami game, he got a little sore. We were hopeful we were past that, but it’s something that we’ll be safe and smart about and then take it day-to-day and hopefully have him back soon.”
Walton said he hopes Bagley will be able to play when the Kings visit the Chicago Bulls on Friday.
Holmes sits again
Kings center Richaun Holmes missed his seventh consecutive game due to shoulder soreness. Holmes suffered an injury to his shoulder joint in a win over the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 6.
Walton said it’s still unclear when Holmes will return.
“They’re working on him every day — hopefully soon,” Walton said.
Pistons hurting, too
The Pistons were missing several players due to all kinds of ailments. Blake Griffin is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery. Drummond was held out with a lip laceration. Tim Frazier (illness), Luke Kennard (knee), Khyri Thomas (foot) and Bruce Brown (illness) were also unavailable.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Richaun Holmes (shoulder), Marvin Bagley III (foot).
Pistons: OUT — Andre Drummond (lip laceration); Tim Frazier (illness); Blake Griffin (knee); Luke Kennard (knee); Khyri Thomas (foot); Bruce Brown (illness).
Kings upcoming schedule
Jan. 24 at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Jan. 27 at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Jan. 29 vs. Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Jan. 30 at Los Angeles Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 6:30 PM.
