Jazz Blow 22 Point Lead, Fall To Pistons

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz fell to the Detroit Pistons 126-116 despite building a 22 point first half lead.

Donovan Mitchell led the team with 31 points, but the shorthanded Jazz were outscored 78-55 in the second half to lose their third consecutive game.

Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 29 points and handed out eight assists in the Pistons win.

First Quarter

The Jazz came out looking much sharper against the Pistons than they did in Indiana, executing on offense and taking advantage of Detroit’s missed shots.

Mitchell was engaged early knocking down nine points to jumpstart the offense while Hassan Whiteside was able to take advantage of the undersized Pistons roster.

Spida passes Stock on the @utahjazz all-time triples list. 🕷🏀💦#TakeNote #UTAvsDET https://t.co/VrDTE73pFA

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 11, 2022

Mitchell had nine first quarter points while Whiteside had eight points, four rebounds, and two blocks in nine minutes.

After one, the Jazz led the Pistons 35-21.

Second Quarter

Whiteside continued to dominate former Jazzman Trey Lyles in the second quarter and finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in the half with a game-high +17 plus-minus.

After building their lead to 22 midway through the second quarter, the Pistons showed their best fight of the game fueled by the defense of Isaiah Stewart and the offense of Killian Hayes halving the Jazz lead in just a couple of minutes on the floor together.

.@youngwhiteside with BIG dunk and a BIG first half in the Motor City. 💪#TakeNote #UTAvsDET https://t.co/d9KQOv8xan

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 11, 2022

In the second quarter, the Pistons shot 3-6 from downtown while the Jazz shot just 2-10.

At the break, the Jazz led the Pistons 61-48.

Third Quarter

The Jazz struggled to stop the Pistons run which spilled over into the third quarter, tying the game up at 73 after trailing 54-32 in the first half.

Mitchell became more aggressive offensively getting into the paint after the Pistons made their run similar to the way he did earlier in the road trip in Denver when he found his floater to combat the defense at the rim.

S̶t̶e̶v̶e̶ ̶N̶a̶s̶h̶ Donovan Mitchell 🏀#TakeNote #UTAvsDEThttps://t.co/3ndXDPGTE0

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 11, 2022

Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham had a brilliant third quarter scoring 18 points and recording three assists in the period.

After three the Jazz trailed the Pistons 88-84.

Fourth Quarter

The Pistons built their lead to six before the Jazz answered with a 9-0 run fueled by the energy of Eric Paschall who picked up the slack after Whiteside’s play dropped off in the second half.

Detroit answered the run however with hot shooting against tired defenders and never looked back.

Cunningham finished with a career-high 29 points while Whiteside added a season-high 21 points in the Jazz loss.

The Jazz fell to the Pistons 124-114.

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