The Pistons ended their second-longest road trip of the year on a losing note with a 121-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.
The Pistons entered the fourth quarter trailing by 10 after a third quarter full of turnovers and inefficient shooting inside the paint. However, Detroit began the final quarter on a 10-5 run to cut the deficit to five.
The Spurs weathered the storm thanks to six fourth-quarter points by former Pistons forward Stanley Johnson. San Antonio led by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter and Detroit failed to get the game within striking distance in the final few minutes.
The loss dropped the Pistons to 11-31 and extended Detroit's losing streak in San Antonio to eight games. They finish their five-game road trip with a 2-3 record, with wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors. The Spurs improved to 13-26.
Spurs guard Tre Jones led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. Romeo Langford added 15 points, while Malaki Branham had 14.
Here are some takeaways from Friday's 121-109 loss:
Ivey's solid night
There are times when Jaden Ivey looks like one of the Pistons' best players, and other times when he makes a bevy of rookie mistakes. The latter was in effect early on, most notably after Ivey blew past a cast of defenders for an opportunity for an uncontested layup, but the rookie guard missed the layup. He made up for it a couple of plays later when he drained a 3-pointer to give the Pistons an 18-16 lead.
Ivey then shifted his focus to making his teammates better. He tallied five assists on Friday and a team-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. He had three of his five assists in third quarter, the most impressive of which was a wrap-around pass to Jalen Duren for an and-one layup. Ivey also had another key helper in transition as he found Saddiq Bey for a dunk to bring the Pistons within five in the fourth quarter. Ivey had just two turnovers, which was manageable considering Detroit's high turnover count.
Turnovers
The Pistons had difficulty taking care of the ball, which ultimately led to their downfall. San Antonio forced the Pistons into 16 turnovers, seven of which were committed in the third quarter. Killian Hayes, who finished with 18 points, seven assists and five steals, was the culprit of a game-high five turnovers. Bojan Bogdanovic, who's usually adept at protecting the ball, tallied four giveaways. After a sloppy third quarter, the Pistons buckled down in the fourth and did not commit a single turnover.
Bog-generous
Bojan Bogdanovic had the opportunity for a dunk in transition as the Pistons tried to make a comeback effort late in the fourth quarter, but selflessly threw a behind-the-back pass to Ivey for an easier score. The play didn't matter in the grand scheme of the game, but it showed how the veteran forward who also doubles as the Pistons' best scorer is trusting his teammates to make plays. Bogdanovic had 21 points on Friday.
