Pistons fall apart down stretch again, lose to Lakers, 106-102

Wesley Johnson and Shawne Williams each made six three-pointers to help the Lakers beat the Pistons for the second time in less than two weeks.

After a beautiful first quarter, Josh Smith was absolutely miserable. He finished the game with eight points on 4-16 shooting and 5 turnovers, which overshadow his other nice numbers of 19 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, and two blocked shots. But most important was his perimeter defense, which was nonexistent as he spent most of his time in the passing lane looking for steals.

His defense on Johnson on this last-second in-bounds pass sums up his inattentiveness:

Smith's defensive performance probably should have earned him another second half benching.

Instead he played every second to finish the game and it was Andre Drummond who spent the majority of the second half as an observer. After committing his fourth foul with 9:09 left in the third he didn't get back in the game. And sure, he only had 13 points, 11 rebounds, a block and a steal in the 16 minutes he was out there.

Greg Monroe was well fed with 19 points, including a couple of fast break baskets.

The Pistons dominated in the paint with a 76-28 points in the paint advantage, as well as an 11 point rebounding edge that included 22 offensive boards. But the Lakers' shooting won out.

GameThread Roll Call: