Spurs Blow Huge First Half Lead, Shocked At Buzzer By Pistons

29. 105. 64. . 104

The San Antonio Spurs lost their first game of 2015 on Tuesday night, falling to the Detroit Pistons 105-104 at home.

The Spurs led by as many as 18 in the first half but a strong push by the Pistons in the third, a quarter in which they outscored San Antonio 33-19, allowed Detroit to steal one in the Alamo City.

Jan 6, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Detroit Pistons point guard

D.J. Augustin

(14) shoots the ball as San Antonio Spurs point guard

Cory Joseph

(5) defends during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Even with that great third quarter, however, the Pistons still needed some late game heroics, getting it by way of a Brandon Jennings layup at the buzzer to win the game for Detroit.

After relinquishing their 58-49 halftime lead in the third, the Spurs did play admirably in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pistons 27-21 in the final period and trying desperately to take back the game.

Unfortunately for San Antonio, it just was not enough, even with seven Spurs in double figures.

Brandon Jennings, who was 4-of-17 before hitting the game winner, was one of six Detroit players in double figures, finishing with 13 points.

Andre Drummond also played fantastic for the victorious Pistons, picking up a monster double-double, 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Jeff Ayres led the way for the Spurs offensively, scoring a career-high 16 points off the bench in 17 minutes. Tim Duncan was also good against the Pistons, contributing 15 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots.

Tony Parker, who returned to the floor after missing the last five games, had three points in 13 minutes.

Both teams played each other as evenly as the final score suggests. The Pistons made five more field goals than the Spurs, but San Antonio was more effective from deep, 9-of-21 compared to Detroit’s 3-of-19.

Rebounds and turnovers were similar between both teams with the Pistons barely edging out the Spurs in both categories 45-41 in rebounding and 14-17 in turnovers.

The game was also very physical evident by the teams taking a combined 62 free throws.

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The loss pushed the Spurs to 21-15 on the year and gave San Antonio its second loss to an Eastern Conference team this season. Last season, San Antonio did not lose its 15th game until February 10th, also against Detroit.

The Pistons improved to 11-23 with the win, their sixth straight victory. The team is now a perfect 6-0 without Josh Smith on the roster.

Next up for the Spurs is a Friday night home match-up against the Phoenix Suns. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.

What do you make of the Spurs latest loss? Is it time to panic? Let us know in the comments!

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