Joe Dumars helped the Detroit Pistons win two NBA titles as a player and another as an executive.
Now, Dumars, in his first season as the New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, is trying to get his new team to a championship level.
There’s still plenty of work to do, evident by the Pelicans' 129-108 loss to the Pistons on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.
“We know the DNA that Joe Dumars believes in and comes from,” Pelicans’ interim coach James Borrego said before the game. "He played it. He lived it. It still runs through his veins. He believes in competitive spirit, physicality, defense. Those are the traits that you can see in both organizations.”
Unfortunately for the Pelicans, most of the competitive spirit Tuesday came from the home team.
The Pelicans (25-49) have now lost three straight games, all to teams towards the top of the Eastern Conference ladder. After losing to the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers at home Saturday and on the road against the third-place New York Knicks Tuesday, the Pels didn’t have enough for the conference-leading Pistons (53-20) Thursday.
“Defensively, we just had no hold on them,” Borrego said. “We could not gain any traction defensively. Other than the run at the end of the third quarter and early fourth, we just couldn’t string enough defensive possessions together.”
It was the Pelicans’ first double-digit loss since the March 1 game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 21 points and six rebounds.
The Pelicans got outscored 34-23 in the second quarter and 37-22 in the fourth and were swept by the Pistons for the second straight year.
Pelicans’ forward Saddiq Bey, who spent the first 2 ½ years of his career with the Pistons, made his return to Detroit. It was just his second time playing in Detroit since they traded him in the 2022-’23 season. Bey finished with 17 points. Jeremiah Fears came off the bench and scored 13 points to go with six assists. Fellow rookie Derik Queen (11 points, 11 rebounds) recorded his 10th double-double.
The Pelicans were without Trey Murphy, who sat out with a right ankle sprain. They didn’t help themselves from the free-throw line. They were a dismal 11-of-24 from the line (46%).
“We had our opportunities at the free-throw line,” Borrego said. “For us, especially without Murphy, we are going to need those points at the free throw line. We missed opportunities there.”
Pistons’ center Jalen Duren dominated, finishing with 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
The Pelicans play the second road game of a back-to-back Friday when they play the Toronto Raptors. The Pelicans beat Brandon Ingram and the Raptors 122-111 two weeks ago in the Smoothie King Center.