Lakers can't match Piston's physicality, fall flat in 128-106 second-half loss

LOS ANGELES — Fast. Athletic. Physical. The Lakers' kryptonite continues to haunt them.

The Lakers fall flat to the Detroit Pistons, 128-106, in a second-half blunder on Tuesday night, dropping Los Angeles to 20-11. With the loss to the Pistons, the Lakers are now 7-8 against teams above .500 and drop to 8-6 at Crypto.com Arena.

It was a successful first half for the Lakers. Despite allowing 46 points in the paint and 67% shooting from the field, L.A. kept it within striking distance—down five at halftime—against a physical Pistons team with the best record in the East.

However, the physicality of the Pistons caught up to the Lakers in the second half and their continued force parking in L.A.'s paint led to Detroit leading by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter.

"We got to match them physically. That's the whole point. We got to match how they play. We should have played with more physicality [tonight] forsure," Luka Dončić said, who finished with 30 points and 11 assists.

Dončić poured in 13 points in the opening quarter and totaled 22 points in the half but scored eight points the rest of the way. LeBron James, who celebrated his 41st birthday, was also limited with just two points in the second half.

Cade Cunningham led the way for the Pistons, who, in some ways, has a similar skillset as Dončić in their knack for shot-making and finding teammates in scoring positions. Cunningham finished with 27 points and 11 assists.

The Lakers have now finished 5-7 in Dec. and had the second-worst defense in the month. They also were the worst assists team in the NBA in Dec., only averaging 22.8 a contest.

"Still trying to figure that out," coach JJ Redick said on the Lakers' DNA and identity. "We have had a lot of stops and starts. We've really tried to play the right way every night and have the right intent. The flow of lineups and rotations has been a challenge for everybody. Building an identity is difficult."

Redick compared how different the teams' identity is compared to last season, finding their identity until late Jan. He added that he had a meeting with legendary franchise coach Phil Jackson last season, who told him that he knew who his team was by Thanksgiving. 

"I think it's hard to figure out [the identity] with this team right now," Redick said, as we approach the New Year in two days.

The Lakers will continue their five-game homestand on Friday in their first of two games against the Memphis Grizzlies.