LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers continued their long road trip as they visited Motor City to face the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
LeBron was having a big game but the Pistons announcers had some fun at the expense of the 16-time All-Star and four-time MVP in the third quarter after missing a pair of easy baskets, calling him a stat-padder.
Some extremely uninspired defense from the Pistons allowed James to simply grab two straight nearly uncontested offensive rebounds for an easy basket despite the fact that three defenders were surrounding him.
Article Continues BelowLeBron did finish with all-around numbers of 22 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists in another historic evening, but it was the Pistons who came up with the victory, 107-92. They outscored the Lakers, who played without Anthony Davis because of a right quad contusion, in the second half, 51 to 34.
This makes it two straight road losses for The King and the Purple and Gold, who fell to a Tobias Harris game-winner on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
With the back-to-back setbacks, the Lakers have dropped to third place in the Western Conference behind the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers.
While it’s still early, an ugly loss to one of the worst teams in the NBA—the Pistons came into the game with a 4-14 record— is certainly a blemish for LeBron James and reigning champions.