The Detroit Pistons had the biggest challenge of their five-game West Coast road trip on tap for the final matchup as they met the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night.
After dropping two straight, the Pistons (25-8) weathered a 30-point performance by Lakers (20-11) feature guard Luka Doncic to earn a 128-106 victory and close out their longest road swing of the season with a 3-2 mark.
Cade Cunningham paved the way with 27 points and 11 assists on 63.2% shooting, but 67 total points from Detroit’s bench led by Marcus Sasser (19), Isaiah Stewart (15) and Ron Holland (11) were critical in a matchup where the Pistons had to rely on their depth.
Tobias Harris got the Pistons going with a short jumper and a make from deep to score Detroit’s first five points. His night was short-lived as a left hip sprain took him out of the game midway through the first quarter.
From there, it was about the star power early on.
Cunningham and Doncic dueled throughout, each serving as the focal point for their team’s offense.
Some crafty dribbling saw Cunningham drop forward Jake Laravia to the court, giving him an uncontested make from three. Doncic later took a deep shot right in front of an outstretched Ausar Thompson — Detroit’s primary defender for the Lakers’ guard — that found its mark.
For the first quarter, it was Doncic leading all scorers with 13 points and Cunningham just behind with 10 points, while adding six assists as he pushed the Pistons out in front, 36-30.
When Cunningham was off the court, Sasser saw some early time on the court after not playing in the last four games. Backup guard Caris LeVert was absent for the game due to left knee soreness.
But Sasser offered plenty of early contributions, knocking the ball loose from Nick Smith Jr. at midcourt and hustling for the loose ball to set up a slam for Jaden Ivey. He hit a late three-pointer to give Detroit its largest lead of the period as part of a season-high 19 points, five assists and two steals in 24 minutes.
Cunningham continued to drive a steady offensive attack in the paint as the Lakers struggled to quell Detroit’s physicality in getting right to the basket. The Pistons outscored Los Angeles in the paint 74-44 for the game.
Big men Jalen Duren and Stewart were key to that success with 16 combined points on 6-of-8 shooting as part of a team-wide 67.5% shooting performance in the opening half. However, their impacts — alongside Holland and Thompson’s — were dampened by all being called for three fouls in the first half.
An 8-0 run to begin the second quarter set Detroit up with a 14-point advantage, but with the Pistons being forced to look further down their bench, the Lakers pulled closer.
Forwards LeBron James and Jarred Vanderbilt found heat from beyond the arc, with five makes between them in the second quarter, to draw within five points at halftime.
Doncic made the key play midway through the third, banking in a fadeaway shot and drawing a fourth foul on Thompson to tie the game at 79 for the first time since the score was level at 23.
Needing someone to respond, Holland showed up with a physical drive and finish on a reverse make off the glass that earned him a foul shot. While taking over defensive responsibilities on Doncic, Holland made three straight baskets to kickstart a 15-6 run following the tie.
With an eight-point lead heading into the fourth, Cunningham remained on the bench and gave way for the Pistons’ reserves to deliver some key baskets as Ivey and Sasser hit threes to force a Lakers timeout.
Cunningham finally joined in on the action and the Pistons went out on a 12-4 run to go up 20 points and build out the advantage the Lakers wouldn’t be able to overcome.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Fdet-vs-lal-0022500460%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The Pistons return home to Little Caesars Arena for the first time since Dec. 20 and the first game of 2026 on Thursday, where they will host the Miami Heat. Detroit got the better of the Heat in the first matchup this season, 138-135.