It was the wrong night for the Detroit Pistons to start slow on either end of the court.
There wasn’t much getting in the way of Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday night as Leonard matched a franchise record with 55 points to lead a dominant 112-99 win over the Pistons at Intuit Dome.
The loss was the most lopsided of the season for Detroit (24-8) since a 21-point defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was previously the Pistons’ lone loss by more than four points.
While the Clippers (10-21) have now extended their season-best four game winning streak, the Pistons dropped their second game in a row, making them 2-2 on their current road trip.
After a scoreless first half, Cade Cunningham surged in the second half with 27 points and six of his nine assists, but the damage had already been done on a record night for Leonard.
The first half was a mess as the Pistons showed from early that shots weren’t going to fall.
Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris were able to generate a few makes in the paint, but with Cade Cunningham struggling to knock down his shots and picking up three fouls in the first quarter the Pistons found themselves in a hole.
After picking up his second foul, Cunningham had the ball stolen by Kris Dunn, who set up James Harden for a transition three-pointer and 16-6 lead for the Clippers.
A 13-2 run from Clippers got them out to a commanding 19-point lead as no one outside of Duren — who scored 16 in the first half — could generate much.
Fellow big Isaiah Stewart added some offense, showcasing his turnaround hook shot and making an assertive dunk early in the second quarter to cut Los Angeles’ lead to nine points.
But things didn’t get much better from there. As Kawhi Leonard put the finishing touches on a 25-point half, the Pistons were ending the half by shooting 0-of-12 from deep with nine turnovers and just eight assists on 16 total made baskets.
Outside of Duren and Stewart, Detroit shot 5-of-28 from the field in the first half and earned a nasty 60-42 deficit at the break.
Cunningham returned with a spark in the second half, scoring the first eight points for the Pistons — including a pair of threes — and leading a 10-5 run.
But Cunningham was outdone in the period by Leonard. Cunningham’s 15-point, two-assists quarter couldn’t match 26 from Leonard on 9-of-12 shooting to grow the Clippers lead by another five points.
With Leonard on the bench to begin the fourth quarter, the Pistons started to claw their way back in with Javonte Green scoring seven points early in the quarter.
Cunningham chipped in 12 more points and even closed the gap to as little as 11 points after a trip to the foul line. Time ran low and Harden served as the closer with 11 of his 28 points in the fourth to keep Detroit from a wild comeback.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Fdet-vs-lac-0022500445%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** History was made for the Clippers at the expense of the Pistons Sunday night and now Detroit will try and bounce back and finish their five-game road trip with a positive record in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on NBC in a highlight national TV spot for Detroit.