MICHIGAN – Los Angeles Lakers bucked the ejection of LeBron James to defeat the Detroit Pistons, 121-116, in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
The former NBA MVP awardee was tossed out of the match early in the third quarter and with Lakers down 66-78 after planting an elbow on the face of Pistons center Isaiah Stewart.
Stewart, with blood on top of his right eye, attempted to chase James thrice before being pacified by Pistons teammates and coaching staff. He was also ejected for two technical fouls.
Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Carmelo Anthony then took turns on the offensive end. The Lakers’ cut down the Pistons’ advantage to 91-99.
The Lakers clawed to within 103-104 before the Pistons widened it to 109-105 on a triple and two free throws by Frank Jackson.
Westbrook and Davis then connived on a 10-3 scoring run to finally took a 115-113 lead. But Horton-Tucker and Davis secured the comeback win with two baskets with under a minute left.
Davis finished the match with 30 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, five blocks and four steals as the Lakers snapped its three-game losing skid to improve to 9-9 win-loss slate.
Westbrook had a near triple-double of 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Anthony and Dwight Howard contributed 18 and 13 points, respectively, for the Lakers.
James ended up with 10 points, five assists and one rebound in 21 minutes of action before the ejection. It was just the second time that the NBA star was tossed out of the game in his career.
Jerami Grant finished with season-high 36 points, while rookie Cade Cunningham had his first triple-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the Pistons dropped to 4-14./PN
BOX SCORE:
LOS ANGELES 121 — Davis 30, Westbrook 26, Anthony 18, Howard 13, James 10, Horton-Tucker 8, Jordan 6, Monk 6, Ellington 4, Bradley 0, Rondo 0
DETROIT 116 — Grant 36, Diallo 17, F. Jackson 15, Bey 14, Cunningham 13, Lyles 7, Joseph 5, J. Jackson 5, Stewart 4
Quarterscores: 30-26, 61-68, 84-99, 121-116
