Reeling Kings fall to Pistons, suffer 6th straight loss
DETROIT >> One Detroit point guard has been carrying the scoring load. Another joined him Wednesday, with his back now healthy enough to pitch in.
Derrick Rose scored 22 points and Reggie Jackson added 22 points in his return to the lineup, as Detroit beat Sacramento 127106 on Wednesday night and dealt the Kings their sixth straight loss.
Jackson missed 42 games since leaving the second game of the season with a back injury. He said after the game the stress reaction in his lower back had affected his sleeping but credited the training staff with bringing him back.
“Teammates being lenient with me and just being put in a good position. I think all that combined and a little bit of luck, of course,” Jackson said. “All that combined allowed myself to just flow pretty easily.”
Jackson made a floater on his first attempt and played well in his 19 minutes off the bench, shooting 8 of 14 and handling out four assists.
“He gives us two big-time point guards on the floor,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “When you alternate those guys, you have stability at the point guard position, and that’s what this league is all about, guys that can create and run the floor.”
Rose scored 20 or more points for the 10th straight game, tying the career high he set in 2010-11, his MVP season in Chicago. He also eclipsed 11,000 career points and added 11 assists.
Christian Wood scored 23 points, and Svi Mykhailiuk added 13 points, the 11th time in 12 games that he has scored in double figures.
De’Aaron Fox had 22 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 points for the Kings, who shot 12 of 23 from the line (52.2%).
“This was as frustrating as it gets,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “Basketball is a simple game: Defend without fouling, make the right play and knock down shots early. I feel like we didn’t do any of those things.”
The Pistons took a 5750 lead into halftime, and stretched the lead to 93-75 as Jackson beat the thirdquarter buzzer with a 3-pointer for Detroit’s largest lead at the time.
The Pistons led by double digits throughout the fourth, and Sacramento shot 10 for 35 (28.6%) on 3-pointers on the night.
“I think our bad stretches have been happening for too long, too many times,” Fox said. “You just try to play the best basketball you can for the most amount of time. I don’t think we’re doing that right now.”
Both teams were without their starting post players because of injuries. Sacramento was missing Marvin Bagley III (foot) and Richaun Holmes (shoulder), while Detroit was without Andre Drummond (lip) and Blake Griffin (knee), who is likely out for the season. TIP-INS >> Sacramento: With Bagley and Holmes out, Dewayne Dedmon started for the fifth time this season and first since Oct. 28, the season’s fourth game. He played 31 minutes and had 13 points and 10 rebounds, tying his season-high for rebounds in his second double-double of the year.
Detroit: The Pistons earned a 50-44 rebounding edge.