Detroit Pistons can’t quite make up huge early 29-point deficit in loss to Utah, 126-119
DETROIT — Collin Sexton scored 30 points, Lauri Markkanen had 27 points and 14 rebounds and the Utah Jazz beat the Detroit Pistons 126-119 on Thursday night for for their second victory in 10 games.
Keyonte George added 28 points for Utah. The Jazz built a 29-point lead in the first quarter and overcame 27 turnovers to improve to 6-20.
Cade Cunningham had 33 points for Detroit before fouling out in the final minute. Malik Beasley added 23.
Utah led by 15 with 3:54 left, but had five turnovers to help the Pistons pull to 114-109 with 1:45 left. John Collins and George hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 120-109 with 51 seconds to go.
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Takeaways
Jazz: George returned after after turning his ankle and leaving in the third quarter. … Utah had lost its previous three games by an average of 29.7 points, allowing 139.7 points per game.
Pistons: Paul Reed, who was waived last weekend before being re-signed Monday, had 12 points and a season-high nine rebounds.
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Key moment
The Pistons were down 93-81 with 1:36 left in the third quarter when a fracas broke out during a deadball situation. Utah’s Jordan Clarkson and Reed were given technical fouls for bumping each other, and Clarkson and Ron Holland II were ejected for squaring up to each other.
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Key stat
The Jazz scored 42 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. Sexton and George combined for 22 points on 7-for-8 shooting — going 6-for-6 from the 3-point line — as Utah took a 27-point lead. It was 48-19 at the end of the quarter.
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Both teams will be back in action tonight. Utah will play at Brooklyn, and Detroit will be in Phoenix.