The Detroit Pistons clawed all the way back from a 17-point hole, but the finish never came. Phoenix held off the rally and beat Detroit 100-88 on Wednesday in Las Vegas summer league, handing the Pistons their third straight loss and dropping them to 1-3.
Brice Williams gave Detroit the kind of scoring burst it needed to make the game interesting. The former Nebraska standout finished with 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds and four assists.
Isaac Jones chipped in 18 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Ebuka Okorie scored 16 points with five assists and four turnovers. Chaz Lanier also reached double figures with 15 points and hit 4 of 9 from deep.
Williams’ night was a sharp rebound from Monday, when he managed just five points on 2-for-11 shooting in the loss to the New York Knicks. Against Phoenix, he had all 24 of his points through the first three quarters and helped fuel a 38-19 Detroit run that flipped the game and gave the Pistons their first lead, 59-57, midway through the third.
His early work mattered, too. After the Suns opened with a 17-2 burst, Williams helped steady Detroit with a steal-and-layup sequence from Drake Allen, then added two free throws, a transition 3-point play and a midrange jumper. He also knocked down Detroit’s first 3-pointer of the night in the second quarter after the Pistons started 0-for-12 from beyond the arc.
That was Williams’ second strong scoring outing of the week. He had 18 points and hit 6 of 8 from 3-point range in Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Okorie’s night was more uneven, but he still flashed the downhill pressure that has kept him involved despite the shaky efficiency. After missing his first four shots, he finally found a rhythm with back-to-back finishes at the rim, including an and-1 through contact. Later, he used a pump fake to get his defender off the floor, then stepped back for a 3-pointer that became Detroit’s third straight triple and trimmed the margin to 47-37.
He kept pushing late, too. In the fourth quarter, Okorie drove for a layup and then set up Allen for another basket in transition on consecutive possessions, pulling Detroit within 87-85 before Phoenix answered and closed it out.
Jones continued to be Detroit’s most reliable interior scorer in summer league. The two-way forward and reigning first-team All G League performer kept using his strength to carve out space in the paint and finish at the rim. His final two baskets of the first half - a layup and a 3-pointer - capped a 25-11 run that cut the Suns’ lead to 49-46.
Through three games entering Wednesday, Jones was averaging 16.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and a block.
Detroit’s final summer league game is Friday against the Miami Heat at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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