Jalen Duren got his first start of the season…and it didn’t really make a difference. Just like the last game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Pistons got off to a slow start in the 1st. Killian Hayes had 2 fouls less than 2 minutes into the game and nobody could make any shots
They had 9 points halfway through the quarter until their offense finally started to pick up. They still couldn’t stop Memphis defensively, but they were able to at least keep pace offensively.
The Pistons trailed 34-27 after the 1st frame as they were led by Bojan Bogdanovic with 9 points. Marvin Bagley got things back on track a bit off the bench with 6 points. That was probably part of the goal of bringing him off the bench.
The Pistons were able to take the lead in the 2nd quarter as Kevin Knox caught fire from beyond the arc. He hit three 3-pointers and had 13 points in the quarter, but it really all came in a 5 minute span to start the quarter. He has had more good games than bad recently and has earned his spot in the rotation. Performances like this show what Kevin Knox can do at his best when his jumper is falling.
The Pistons lead didn’t last long, as the Grizzlies would eventually take it back just like good teams do when playing worse teams. The Pistons went from leading by 2 at the 7 minute mark to trailing by 5 at the 5 minute mark. Things can swing quick when you are facing a good team, and the swing came as the starters were coming back into the game.
The starters were able to at least hang around and not let the game get out of hand, as they would enter halftime trailing 61-53. Bogey had 13 and Knox had 13. However, Bogdanovic was only 4-of-12 from the field.
Memphis stole the inbound to start the 2nd half, and that was a pretty accurate sign of things to come. Ja Morant had 21 points in the 3rd quarter the last time these two teams met, and he had 8 points two and a half minutes into the 3rd quarter as the Grizzlies lead ballooned to 15. It wasn’t quite the scorcher of a 3rd like last game, but he took all the momentum the Pistons may have had and the Grizzlies were able to build their lead and not look back.
The Pistons defense had no answer for anybody on Memphis and their offense was not playing well enough to keep pace with Grizzlies. The bench played well in the 1st half, but they couldn’t recapture the magic when they got a chance to fix the sinking ship in the 3rd quarter as the Grizzlies just continued to build their lead.
The Pistons would finish the 3rd quarter trailing 98-78. Their leading scorer was still Bogdanovic with 19 and Marvin Bagley had 14 off the bench.
The Pistons just didn’t have it tonight after putting up a solid fight against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. A 20 point lead is almost insurmountable against a good team like Memphis and there were no surprises in the 4th quarter in this one.
The Pistons would fall to the Grizzlies 114-103. A late run made the final score look a lot closer than the game actually was.
Jaden Ivey had yet another bad game, as he appears to be hitting a bit of a rookie wall. There are flashes here and there, but they come between long stretches of bad turnovers and missed shots. He finished this game 4-of-14 from the field with 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 5 turnovers. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 19. Marvin Bagley had 14.
For the Grizzlies, they were led by Jaren Jackson Jr. with 20 points and Brandon Clarke with 17 points.
The Pistons will return home and face the Lakers on Sunday, who are playing a lot better than the last time they met.