Detroit Pistons take on Los Angeles Lakers at the Palace

It seemed like old times at the Palace with the Los Angeles Lakers coming to town.  The roads leading to the Palace were packed in fact saw a couple of vehicles collide on the way in.  The fans were fired up coming in the Palace with many wearing the Lakers colors with jerseys, coats and hats.  On a cold Super Bowl Sunday the crowd was louder for the Lakers than the home team Detroit Pistons who came into the game with a 18-29 record.  The Lakers so far in 2013 were not much better with a 21-26 record and in fact they have looked bad on the road this season.    

Much of the hype was who the fans were their to see in Kobe Bryant the All-Star forward for the Los Angeles Lakers.  Oh they also wanted to see Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard in action too.  I believe that the fans rooting for the Pistons felt that this was a chance for them to defeat the Lakers who are struggling also this season.   Also this season the Pistons for halftime entertainment are bringing in musical groups to perform quickly at halftime and featured hip-hop star Coolio today. 

The Pistons who just traded away the last piece to the 2004 Championship season in Taushun Prince seemed out of rythem in the first half.  They were also having trouble getting back on defense against the Lakers who took a large lead in the locker room at halftime.  Dwight Howard didn't play for the Lakers still resting a minor injury. 

It amazes me that 2 of your top 4 scorers are coming off the bench with Will Bynum scoring 18 points and 10 assists.  Andre Drummond had a strong game also with 9 points and 11 rebounds.  The game wasn't without it's flare ups with Metta World Peace aka Ron Artest who got into it with Brandon Knight in the 2nd quarter and was called for a flagrant foul for throwing a punch. 

The Lakers were able to hold onto victory against the Pistons who outscored them by 10 points in the 2nd half.  The Lakers were lead by Pau Gasol who had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Kobe Bryant who started slowly finished with 18 points and the go ahead 3 point play with 1:09 remaining.   The Pistons turn around and play the New York Knicks on Monday in New York.  The Pistons will struggle to make the NBA playoffs in 2013.  They are still a couple of years off before they will contend again.