On December 24, 2024, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued with a focus match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons have been performing well recently, moving from a long-term bottom ranking in the Eastern Conference to now entering the play-in tournament area. The Lakers have won three consecutive games, rising to sixth in the Western Conference. Both teams are in good form. Who will come out on top?
In the first quarter, both teams had excellent offensive performances, with the Pistons having a slight advantage at 34:32. In the second quarter, the Lakers launched a counterattack, overtaking the score at halftime, leading 64:62 by two points. In the third quarter, the Pistons had a more outstanding offense, with the Lakers trailing 92:93 by one point. In the fourth quarter, the Pistons played an excellent offense and performed exceptionally well defensively, scoring 20:11 to directly widen the gap to 113:103, with the Lakers trailing by 10 points. At this point, there were only 4 minutes and 36 seconds left in the game. James continued his magical performance, helping the Lakers narrow the score to 112:117, trailing by 5 points, but there was really not much time left. With 1 minute and 46 seconds remaining, James scored again with a breakthrough layup, making it 114-117, only trailing by 3 points, with just 46 seconds left. James really did his best. Not only did he achieve a triple-double, but he also scored continuously in the fourth quarter. The Pistons called a timeout. Cunningham attacked and forced a three-pointer. Was such a shot unreasonable? But with only 3.7 seconds left, James missed his last-second shot. It's really unfair to blame James for this. There was just so little time left. Ultimately, the game ended with the Lakers losing 114-117 at home to the Pistons. This season, as an Eastern Conference underdog, the Pistons have double-killed the Lakers, which is somewhat embarrassing.
Throughout the entire game,
Davis started for 38 minutes, shooting 7 of 13, including 1 of 3 from three-point range, scoring 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Recently, AD has not been performing well, and although he could be considered average in this game, he indeed did not live up to his power as the top center at the time, failing to provide more assistance to James. So, his rebounding ability is still there, but offensively, he has indeed been in a continuous slump.
Reeves started for 36 minutes, shooting 5 of 9, including 2 of 5 from three-point range, scoring 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. Such a performance is already quite commendable, but the offensive organization was handled quite unsmoothly, and many times they still had to rely on James to initiate the offense!
James started for 35 minutes, shooting 10 of 15, including 2 of 3 from three-point range, scoring 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. As the number one player in the NBA, he certainly lives up to his name, and there's nothing to complain about. He handles scoring, rebounds, and assists all at once, and at the age of 40, what more can you ask for? He didn't blindly shoot and had a remarkable shooting percentage. Faced with such a loss, the Lakers have regrets, and James even more so. His super triple-double failed to help the team secure victory, but James really did his best.
Christie started for 33 minutes, shooting 6 of 10, including 3 of 4 from three-point range, scoring 17 points and 1 rebound. His performance was quite commendable, and his offense was indeed outstanding, but his defensive role was indeed too small.
Hachimura started for 28 minutes, shooting 3 of 8, including 0 of 2 from three-point range, scoring 10 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist. Hachimura was not at his best today, with a mediocre shooting percentage. However, as an interior defensive force, he only grabbed 1 rebound, putting the Lakers in a passive position.
Vincent came off the bench for 18 minutes, shooting 3 of 5, all three-point attempts, scoring 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. As a substitute player and a three-point shooter, hitting three three-pointers is already quite an effort.
Reddish came off the bench for 17 minutes, shooting 3 of 3, including 1 of 1 from three-point range, scoring 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist. With limited playing time, he put up such numbers, which is already quite eye-catching.
Knect came off the bench for 15 minutes, shooting 2 of 4, including 1 of 2 from three-point range, scoring 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. The young man seems to have lost his magic. Not only did he lose his starting position, but he also didn't perform up to par.
Russell came off the bench for 15 minutes, shooting 1 of 5, including 1 of 4 from three-point range, scoring 5 points and 5 assists. Water Pull really pulled through again. His performance is too unstable, truly a double-edged sword that both pleases and worries the Lakers.