Pistons vs. Spurs final score: Pistons forget to compete on defense, lose 136-109

The Detroit Pistons started their six-game road trip with a whimper against the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night, losing 136-109. The Pistons fall to 12-21 and the Spurs improve to 13-18.

Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond paced Detroit in a competitive first half. Rose got any shot he wanted en route to a 7-of-10 performance, good for 15 points. The Spurs continually played Rose one-on-one and it didn’t work. Drummond scored 15 and grabbed 13 rebounds, much of it coming in the first quarter. Blake Griffin saw a couple of 3-pointers fall through the net, but that was it as he was just 2-of-10 from the field.

The rest of the Pistons starters — Svi Mykhailiuk, Tim Frazier, and Tony Snell — combined for two buckets in half number one.

DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge paced the Spurs with efficient shooting on mostly high percentage shots.

Detroit trailed 59-55 at the half.

Then the third quarter happened. And team tank (#teamtank) couldn’t be happier how it turned out. Detroit made San Antonio look nothing like a 12-18 team: former Michigan State Spartan sharp shooter Bryn Forbes heated up, and DeRozan and Aldridge continued their heady play as the Spurs exploded for 42.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

The Spurs shot 18-of-35 from downtown. For you math hotshots out there, yes, that’s over 50-percent.

DeRozan missed just three shots from the field, scoring 29 points in 32 minutes.

Two-way contract small forward Louis King drilled his first 3-pointer (second career bucket) of his NBA career fresh off the bench late in the fourth. He also made a couple of aggressive drives and looked good doing so.

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Detroit travels to Salt Lake City to face the Jazz on Monday. Only 49 more Pistons games to go.