DETROIT -- The Detroit Pistons pummeled the Los Angeles Lakers en route to a lopsided 111-91 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Pistons opened the game with a 15-0 run within the first 3 minutes of regulation and never looked back as the Los Angeles Lakers couldn't get anything going offensively.
Kobe Bryant battled flu-like symptoms and struggled to score, missing 13 of 15 shots to finish with just five points. Still, the five-time champion got a warm ovation from an appreciative crowd who chanted "Kobe!!! Kobe!!! during the course of the game.
When asked how bad his symptoms were, the Lakers star said, ?If it wasn't my last season, I probably wouldn't have played?.
Lakers forward Julius Randle clinched a double-double to finish with 15 points and 11 rebounds and rookie point guard D?Angelo Russell pitched in 12 points. Lou Williams, last year's most improved player, had 21 points off the bench.
Andre Drummond scored 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds
while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Pistons with 22 points. Reggie Jackson added 20 points as the Pistons won their fourth in a row.
?We know that if we really want to be a contender, we need to keep playing this way," Jackson said. "We are beating the teams we need to beat, and we've been doing the right things on offense. Now we have to go down to Charlotte and beat a really good defensive team."
A frustrated Nick Young was ejected in the fourth quarter for shoving Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver following a fast-break foul.
"I thought Nick probably over-reacted a little bit," said Lakers coach Byron Scott. Young later on agreed and admitted the Lakers record, 3-17, and the score was what frustrated him, more than the foul itself.
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