Pistons vs. Lakers final score: Drummond feasts on baby Lakers

Sometimes talent just wins.

The Lakers were in town for their final appearance at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but this was nothing like the matchups of the late 1980s. Instead, the Pistons romped to a 121-102 win against a young Los Angeles squad that has decided to bench most of their vets to allow their young players to learn on the fly.

And Andre Drummond was there to teach them a lesson. Drummond was taller, stronger and faster than everyone on the floor. Drummond had 24 points, 17 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in 28 breezy minutes.

The Pistons netted a season-high 32 assists and scored at will inside the paint, where the team scored 70 of their 121 points. The guards were too fast and the big men were too long.

Other Pistons of note were 20 points from Jon Leuer, playing his typical crafty style, always making himself available and finding an opening. Tobias Harris had 19 in just 24 minutes by driving aggressively to the basket and always taking advantage when given the space to hoist his jumper.

Detroit was able to pick apart the Lakers’ porous defense early and often, and the team delighted in sharing the ball and looking for the easy bucket. Reggie Jackson hoisted only five shots but had eight assists and no turnovers. It was that kind of night.

The Pistons have now won four of their past five games, are in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and have a relatively favorable schedule for the next month.

Detroit next plays the Spurs Friday and at the Raptors Sunday. After that tough two-game gauntlet, Detroit gets to play at Milwaukee, home games against Dallas, Charlotte, Boston and Portland then two on the road against New Orleans and Philadelphia.