Lakers roll past Pistons to stay hot

LeBron James had 25 points and eight assists and Anthony Davis finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers continued their improved play with a 125-111 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.

D'Angelo Russell scored 21 points, while Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves each added 15 as the Lakers won for the fifth time in their last six games, with one more game remaining Wednesday at Utah before starting their All-Star break.

Spencer Dinwiddie made his Lakers debut after he was signed Saturday and scored six points and added seven assists in 31 minutes.

The Lakers led by as many as 23 points in the first half and went up by 24 in the third quarter before finishing the victory by shooting 51.2 percent from the floor.

Ausar Thompson scored 19 points and James Wiseman added 18 for the Pistons, who lost consecutive games at Los Angeles after matching a season-high with back-to-back wins. Detroit lost 112-106 to the Clippers on Saturday.

Jaden Ivey scored 15 points and Cade Cunningham added 12 as the Pistons dropped to 2-2 on their five-game road trip before the break, with another game Wednesday at Phoenix.

Evan Fournier, one of the Pistons' several additions at last week's trade deadline, made his debut and scored 13 points in 25 minutes. Malachi Flynn also played his first game for Detroit, going scoreless in two minutes. Simone Fontecchio, Troy Brown Jr. and Shake Milton made their Pistons debuts Saturday.

Los Angeles jumped in front 34-24 after one quarter and was up 71-48 at the half after shooting 60 percent from the floor. Davis had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the first half, while the Lakers had 20 assists on 27 made baskets. They finished the game with 32 assists.

The Pistons fought back in the third quarter, scoring 31 points and shooting 48.1 percent, but they still trailed 99-79 heading into the final period. The Lakers rested Davis the entire fourth quarter, while James departed for good with 5:33 remaining.

—Field Level Media