Dwight Howard stars as the Lakers finally win; Pound the hapless Pistons 108-79 – NBA Recap
Although it took a misfiring Detroit Pistons team for them to win, the losing streak is finally over for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dwight Howard scored 28 points and 7 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 15 points and eight assists in nearly 32 minutes and the Lakers rolled onto a 108-79 win over the hapless Pistons, who are now 0-3 at the start of the season.
Metta World Peace had 18 points in the game and Pau Gasol added 14. The Lakers domination was outright. They shot nearly 52 percent from the floor as compared to 35.4 percent shooting from the Pistons; out-rebounded them by 13,
and never allowed them to lead in the game, stretching their lead to as many as 36 points late in the third quarter.
After enduring a storm of criticism due to the early struggles of his team, Lakers head coach Mike Brown was relieved man;
"Obviously we needed a win. ... It gives us a little belief." He quipped post game.
For the Pistons, this was a night to forget quickly. None of their starter was in the double scoring figures. Jonas Jerebko scored 18 points to lead them, Kyle Singler had 11 off the bench and Will Bynum added 10.
The Lakers raced off with a 8-2 start and after the Pistons closed the deficit to 3 points, Howard hammered a personal 6 point run to make it 17-8. That pretty much set the tone for the entire game. Lakers closed the first quarter
with a 17-3 run to take a 34-13 lead and were leading by 28 at the break. That however did not stop them from tormenting the Pistons.
A Pau Gasol layup inside the first 40 seconds took the lead to 30 points and 9-2 ensuing run made it 73-38. With 4:32 remaining in the quarter, World Peace knocked down a triple to stretch the lead to 82-46, the biggest of the
game. Piston followed with a 9-2 run but at that point it was all meaningless.
The Pistons however kept coming and courtesy off some early scoring they outscored the Lakers 24-22 in the frame to restore semblance of respectability in the final score, 108-79.
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