Jenkins stuns Lakers late as Pistons survive Dončić’s 32

The Lakers had already done the hard part. They erased a 16-point Detroit lead, stole the momentum with a furious third-quarter surge, and put themselves in position to leave with a road win. Then Daniss Jenkins took over the final minute, and the Pistons survived 113-110 in a game that swung wildly from Detroit control to late-night tension.

Detroit looked like the sharper team early, building a 16-point cushion and even after Los Angeles opened the second quarter on a push, the Pistons answered with the game’s most important run. Down 35-33, Jalen Duren gets downhill for a running layup to cap a 10-0 Detroit burst, flipping the scoreboard to 42-35 and forcing the Lakers to chase the rest of the half. Duren’s pressure at the rim set the tone, and Detroit kept the advantage by winning the glass and turning possessions into easy looks. By halftime, the Pistons had dropped 65 points, and the energy in the building suggested they were in full control.

But the Lakers are never out of it when Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves start stringing possessions together. Los Angeles comes out of the break and immediately tightens the screws, and the key swing arrives when LeBron James races into a running layup off a Reaves assist to trim a 14-point deficit into a live game. That 8-0 Lakers run in the third quarter pulled them from 81-67 to 81-75, and the game turned from a Detroit showcase into a possession-by-possession grind. Dončić keeps the offense humming with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Reaves adds 24 points and repeatedly punishes mismatches, including the floating jumper with 29.7 seconds left that makes it 109-110. For a few tense minutes, the Lakers looked ready to steal a game they had trailed for much of the night.

Then Detroit refused to fold. Jaxson Hayes makes his presence felt defensively with a block at 4:50 left in the fourth, and on the next meaningful sequence Daniss Jenkins drives to the rim for a layup at 4:22, pushing the Pistons back ahead 105-98. The Lakers still punch back—Deandre Ayton’s putback at 3:31 cuts it to three, and Tobias Harris answers with a turnaround fadeaway at 2:22 to make it 107-105—but every Los Angeles run gets met with a Detroit shot. Jenkins, who had been efficient all night, delivers the biggest shot of the game when he buries a 12-foot step-back jumper with 24.6 seconds left to make it 111-110. That’s the turning point. After Reaves’ late floater had finally brought the Lakers within one, Detroit gets the final answer and the arena exhales.

The box score tells the story of a game with real teeth. Jenkins finishes with 30 points and eight assists on 61% shooting, carrying Detroit’s offense when the Lakers threatened to flip the game on its head. Jalen Duren posts a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double, and his physicality around the rim mattered as much as any single shot. Deandre Ayton adds a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double for Los Angeles, while LeBron quietly stuffs the stat sheet with 12 points, nine boards and 10 assists. Jaxson Hayes’ 11 points and four blocks gave the Lakers some interior life, but Detroit’s ability to get one last clean look—then force Los Angeles into a final, empty possession—made the difference.

For Detroit, this is the kind of win that matters in a crowded race: a close finish, a late response under pressure, and another night where the young core shows it can execute when the game tightens. For the Lakers, it’s a missed opportunity after clawing all the way back from a double-digit hole. They had the momentum, they had the stars, and they still left with a loss. If these teams meet again, Los Angeles will remember how close it came; Detroit will remember that Jenkins had the last word.