Struggling Suns lose to Pistons 131-107
DETROIT - Maybe it was when Ish Smith, who has played for 10 teams in eight NBA seasons, blew by the defense for two layups late in the first quarter.
Maybe it was the seven first-quarter turnovers – with only three assists.
Or maybe it was Alex Len and Mike James both missing uncontested dunk attempts, their sure things bouncing hard off the rim, the crowd at Little Caesars Arena erupting in condescending laughter.
The Suns, playing the back end of a road back-to-back, needed to play a near-perfect game to beat the 13-6 Pistons. When they didn’t, when their effort and execution on both ends of the floor was lacking, 131-107 happened.
It was predictable and ugly. Predictably ugly, maybe? Detroit led by 28 at halftime and as many as 36 before calling off the dogs.
“I think there are games that are schedule games, but we can’t make excuses,” interim coach Jay Triano said. “Everybody else goes through it as well. This is a tough one after last night (the win over the Bulls in Chicago), the travel and the fatigue, but we can still be better than we were.”
Phoenix has played a lot of bad basketball this season.
The 48-point opening-night loss to Portland. The 42-point blowout at the Clippers three days later. Giving up 90 first-half points to Houston. The listless effort in a 115-91 loss to New Orleans last Friday.
Wednesday’s game – particularly the first half - can be added to the list. Everything Triano has preached since becoming interim coach, the Suns didn’t practice.
Taking care of the ball? Phoenix had 22 turnovers, leading to 24 Detroit points.
Defense? The Pistons shot 57.3 percent from the field, 46.4 percent from 3point range, and those numbers would have been even better had coach Stan Van Gundy not emptied his bench in the fourth quarter. Time and time again, Detroit had open lanes to the basket or wide-open shots from the perimeter.
“It’s not about losing. It’s about the way we lost,” forward Jared Dudley said. “When you’re playing a team like this, they’re either getting 3s or dunks, and for us, what are we are going to take away? I thought they got both. They got into the lane and got layups, they got 3s, so we didn’t do a good job of, ‘Hey, let’s protect the paint and close out late on 3s or let’s take away the 3 and take away the 2point game.’”
Fighting back when the opponent starts making shots? From the 5:36 mark of the first quarter to the end of the first half Phoenix was outscored 54-28.
“They were more physical than us. They fought harder than us,” said Booker, who finished with 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
There was a brief moment, midway through the first quarter, when it looked like the Suns might compete with the Pistons. It was a 15-13 game after a Booker 3-pointer. Five minutes later, at the end of the quarter, Detroit led by 17.
Game over.
Detroit’s defense, led by the hounding Avery Bradley, made life miserable for Booker, who had seven turnovers. They trapped him early on and were quick enough to recover on the rare occasions Booker was able to find an open teammate.
“They were super aggressive with their defense,” Triano said. “They were up into the offensive player and they caused us problems. I think they were locked into what we were doing.”
As a result, Phoenix got out of its natural offensive flow. Fourteen of its turnovers came in the decisive first half.
The one bright spot for the Suns was rookie Josh Jackson scoring a careerhigh 20 points in front of about 80 family members and friends. Jackson, who grew up on the east side of Detroit, made 9 of 19 shots and also had seven rebounds and three steals.
“I had a lot of fun playing today,” Jackson said. “It didn’t turn out the way we wanted to, but (the career high) definitely means something to me.”