After erasing a 15-point deficit, the Detroit Pistons had ample opportunities to escape the Utah Jazz with a win, but their offense went silent when it mattered most.
Despite forcing nine turnovers in the fourth quarter, the Detroit offense went well over three minutes down the stretch without a made field goal and missed their chance to complete a comeback.
Keyonte George played hero for Utah with a game-high 31 points and the game-winning basket with two seconds remaining.
With a 131-129 loss to the Jazz (11-19) Friday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, the Pistons (24-7) had their three-game winning streak halted and dropped their first game on a West Coast road trip.
Cade Cunningham led a Pistons performance that saw seven players score in double digits. Their star guard had 29 points, 17 assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Detroit was mired by fouls from the early goings as Jalen Duren picked up two in the first three minutes of the game.
The big man would would sit most of the half as the Pistons didn’t want to risk his absence in the second half, however he picked up another two fouls in the first few minutes of the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, Duren had played less than 13 minutes of the game.
Without their star center, Cunningham was the focus of Detroit’s offense as he scored and provided at a high level.
After going down by as much as nine in the first, Cunningham spurred on an 18-2 run going coast-to-coast and splitting a pair of defenders for an authoritative left-handed dunk and dishing into the paint for Jaden Ivey — who had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting on the night.
The Jazz stuck around in the first half thanks to huge performances from George and Lauri Markkanen, combining for 37 points in the half.
But Detroit’s 68-67 lead at the break was thanks in large part to a team effort that saw eight Pistons players hit multiple shots.
Cunningham’s 11 points and 13 assists in the first half were the second halftime double-double of his career as well as a career-high for assists in any single half.
Things broke down defensively in a big way for the Pistons in the third quarter as Markannen hit an early three-pointer to put Utah back in the lead.
Without Duren, the Jazz really started to have their way in the paint. Not just scoring at the rim and having space to kick out for deep shots, but also in getting to the foul line.
The Pistons were called for 14 fouls in the period, giving Utah 18 free throws, which they made 17 of to grow out a lead as large as 15 points.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff relied on his bench to spark some offense as Javonte Green and Daniss Jenkins provided 14 points in the period, each draining a pair of threes.
Entering the fourth quarter down eight points, it was a returning Ron Holland who started providing for his teammates. He dished out a quick trio of assists, eventually setting up Duncan Robinson for a three-pointer to close their deficit back to three.
Hard times hit the Detroit offense late as Cunningham hit a step-back two with just under five minutes to go and no one hit another basket until Cunningham drove for a dunk with 64 seconds left in the contest.
Cunningham would give the Pistons life one more time, picking Brice Sensabaugh’s pocket in transition and getting to the line for the game-tying free throws.
But it would be George having the final say by dropping a floater into the basket above Green and Duren with two seconds left. Cunningham’s desperation three missed the mark at the buzzer to hand Detroit its seventh loss of the season.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Fdet-vs-uta-0022500430%2Fbox-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The Pistons head to Los Angeles for the final leg of their West Coast road trip. They’ll face the Clippers on Sunday and the Lakers on Tuesday,