By james art 
DETROIT – It could be because the Lakers were on the fourth game of a five-game, 11-day road trip.
Arguably, despite not being too far apart in the average age of their teams (24,278 vs. 25,285), the Detroit Pistons are equipped with more speed and athleticism, especially in the backcourt.
It may be that the Lakers have taken an opponent lightly, given that the Pistons have been one of the worst teams in the league for the past half-decade.
Or it could be a combination of all of the above that led to the Lakers (4-3) falling to the Pistons, 115-103, on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena for their third loss in their last four games.
“We’re all disappointed,” first-year coach JJ Reddick said. “We are all disappointed.”
The Pistons (3-5), playing in the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Brooklyn Nets on the road Sunday night, played with more energy.
They were quicker at grabbing loose balls and rebounding opportunities, scoring 22 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds.
The Pistons beat the Lakers to points, either by hitting shots past the Lakers’ slow perimeter defense or by breaking into layups they couldn’t recover for in time.
Detroit led 33-22 late in the first quarter and led 62-42 late in the second before taking a 67-53 lead into halftime.
The Lakers tightened up their defense in the second half and cut the deficit to 83-77 entering the fourth quarter, but got no closer.
“I just don’t think we competed hard enough in the first half,” guard Austin Reaves said. “Any time you’re down 20 or so at any point in the game, it’s hard to fight your way back.”
The Lakers also struggled to match the Pistons’ physicality, with Detroit pushing the Lakers out of their positions as they tried to move offensively.
Anthony Davis, who entered the game averaging an NBA-best 31.8 points, had another strong performance with 37 points (13-of-23 shooting), nine rebounds and four assists, but was late with an apparent left leg injury. Davis ended the game by saying after the game that he had been managing the issue since the summer.
“My goal for every game is to be on the floor,” Davis said. “And I just landed right where it was killing me. So we’ll figure it out.
Asked about the seriousness of the leg problem, Davis said: “I don’t know. I’m not sure to be honest. We’ll see. But we’ll take it day by day and see how it feels and how far it goes.”
LeBron James finished with 20 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.
When a reporter was in the middle of asking James about the state of the Lakers if Davis is not available, Davis interrupted the question, saying, “He’s not out. You’ve already asked this question.
Reaves added 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting for the Lakers, who got just 10 points from their reserves, including a scoreless night from Gabe Vincent (shotless in 18 minutes).
Jaden Ivey (team-high 26 points) essentially sealed the victory for the Pistons, hitting a 3-pointer that put Detroit up by nine and a layup on the next possession to give the Pistons a 111-100 lead with 1:01 left.
Cade Cunningham, who had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double, slowed down and led the way with 13 points. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 points, Tobias Harris scored 15 and Jalen Duran had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons.
The Lakers close out the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
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