Early hole too big for Pistons; Jazz prevail 96-86

Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 28 points in a decisive first quarter, and the Utah Jazz held on for a 96-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons were coming off an overtime win over Phoenix on Friday night in which they rallied from a 23-point deficit, but they couldn't climb out of another big hole on Sunday. Utah scored the game's first nine points and never trailed. The Jazz went on a 17-0 run later in the first, pushing their lead to 20 before the quarter was over.

Jerami Grant scored 28 points for the Pistons, who cut the deficit to six late in the third quarter. They had the ball down five late in the fourth, but Rudy Gobert blocked a shot by Mason Plumlee, and Mike Conley made two free throws to make it 93-86 with 1:00 remaining.

Conley finished with 22 points.

Utah improved to 3-2 on its seven-game road trip. The Jazz beat Milwaukee on Friday, making a franchise-record 25 3-pointers in the process. Their shooting took a turn for the worse in Detroit, where they went just 11 of 35 from beyond the arc, but the Pistons were even worse at 10 of 42.

TIP-INS Jazz: F Juwan Morgan missed the game because of health and safety protocols. ... F Joe Ingles streak of 384 straight games — the longest active run in the league — was snapped when he missed Friday's game because of a sore right Achilles tendon, but he returned against Detroit. Ingles scored nine points. ... Gobert had four points and 20 rebounds.

Pistons: G Derrick Rose was out with left knee soreness. ... Detroit went 18 of 21 (85.7%) on free throws, setting a franchise record with its fifth straight game shooting at least 85.0%.

UP NEXT Jazz: Visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Utah has won four straight against Cleveland.

Pistons: Host Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Detroit lost twice to the Bucks earlier this month. AP BSBS

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