The Detroit Pistons struggled moving the ball. They also struggled shooting the ball. It was a recipe for disaster in Toronto.
The Pistons were blown out by the Raptors on Friday, 118-97, to fall to 16-58 overall. It was Detroit’s fifth straight loss and 16th in 17 games. Jaden Ivey, who led the Pistons with 20 points and eight assists, also finished with a career-high nine turnovers. Toronto scored 23 points off of Detroit’s 22 turnovers, and the Pistons shot just 6-for-25 on 3-pointers.
Pascal Siakam scored 26 of his 32 points in the first half on 10-for-14 shooting, leading a Raptors team that started the game hot and led by double digits from the 9:26 mark of the second quarter. They knocked down four of their first six 3-pointers and built a 10-point lead, 17-7, less than five minutes into the game.
Marvin Bagley III (14 points, nine rebounds), James Wiseman (14 points) and Isaiah Livers (12 points) also scored in double figures for Detroit. Chris Boucher (19 points, 12 rebounds), Fred VanVleet (18 points) and OG Anunoby (17 points) led the Raptors.
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It was Livers’ first game back after missing four with right hip soreness. Jalen Duren also returned after missing a game due to cervical whiplash. It was another long injury report for the Pistons, with Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Hamidou Diallo, Cory Joseph (illness) and Rodney McGruder (right foot sprain) all out. Scottie Barnes (left wrist soreness) and Gary Trent Jr. (right elbow stiffness) missed the game for Toronto.
Pistons hurt by turnovers
With under four minutes remaining until halftime, Ivey misplaced a lob to Wiseman and turned the ball over, setting up an easy dunk for Siakam on the other end. Detroit’s next possession also ended with an Ivey turnover, as his pass to set up a 3-pointer by RJ Hampton was tipped by VanVleet and set up another Toronto transition dunk, this time for Anunoby.
The pair of miscues helped the Raptors extend their lead to 18 — 61-43 — and gave them 17 points off 12 Pistons turnovers in the first half. Ivey was responsible for six of them in 21 minutes of first-half action, marring what was otherwise a bounce-back night for him as a scorer.
In eight games this month, Ivey had shot just 34.8% overall and 30.4% from 3. But on Friday, he tallied 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting through the first two quarters, including a pair of 3-pointers, and also dished out four assists. He was responsible for eight of Detroit’s final 10 points in the first quarter, finding Duren underneath for a pair of dunks and splitting a trip at the line before hitting a stepback 3-pointer with 32.4 seconds left.
Ivey played the entire third quarter, and went 2-for-4 from the field to give himself 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Although he rediscovered his shooting touch, it was his second game this month with at least seven turnovers and fourth with at least five.
Detroit’s ball control issues persisted in the second half. Ivey’s seventh turnover came midway through the third quarter, as his pass to Wiseman on a roll bounced off his head, rather than into his hands. He committed his eighth turnover in a similar fashion in the fourth, as the ball bounced off Duren during a roll, and his ninth occurred with nine seconds left in the game. The Pistons turned the ball over three times in the final three minutes of the third period — Bagley committed consecutive traveling violations, and Omoruyi lost his handle on a drive and control of possession.
Turnovers have been an issue for the Pistons this season. They entered Friday averaging 15 per game, tied for sixth-worst in the league.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons gave the game away, 118-97, vs. Toronto Raptors