Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham handles the ball as Lakers guard Max Christie defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers star LeBron James drives to the basket in front of Detroit Pistons forward Tim Hardaway Jr. (8) during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers guard Austin Reaves handles the ball during the first half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) The Detroit Pistons’ Simone Fontecchio takes a 3-point shot as Lakers star LeBron James defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star Anthony Davis dunks in front of Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) The Detroit Pistons’ Jaden Ivey handles the ball as Lakers guard Austin Reaves defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) The Detroit Pistons’ Jaden Ivey handles the ball as Lakers guard Austin Reaves defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star LeBron James handles the ball as Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey shoots as Lakers guard Austin Reaves defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers guard Austin Reaves, right, passes the ball as Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers star LeBron James, right, and the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham pursue a loose ball during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star LeBron James, right, and the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham pursue a loose ball during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) The Detroit Pistons’ Simone Fontecchio takes a shot as Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht, right, defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star LeBron James runs up the court during the first half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) The Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren (0) is fouled by Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, left, on his way to the basket during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star LeBron James walks past the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell handles the ball during the first half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) defends against Lakers star Anthony Davis, bottom, during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers coach JJ Redick watches from the sideline during the first half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers guard Gabe Vincent drives as Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley reacts to a made basket during the second half of their game against the Lakers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers guard Max Christie takes a shot during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star Anthony Davis gets to the basket for a layup in front of Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) and forward Tobias Harris, far left, during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, left, drives to the basket as Lakers forward LeBron James defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers forward LeBron James dunks in front of Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley drives as Lakers guard Austin Reaves defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers guard Max Christie gets to the basket for a dunk in front of the Detroit Pistons’ Paul Reed during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II, center, shoots over Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) and guards Gabe Vincent (7) and Dalton Knecht, right, during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers star LeBron James handles the ball as the Detroit Pistons’ Ronald Holland II defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, left, battles for a loose ball against Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris shoots in front of Lakers star Anthony Davis during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) and Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) battle for a rebound during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers star Anthony Davis takes a shot during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey drives between Lakers forwards Anthony Davis, left, and Cam Reddish, right, during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers guard Gabe Vincent takes a 3-point shot during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star Anthony Davis shoots in front of Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers forwards Anthony Davis (3), LeBron James (23) and Rui Hachimura (28) argue a call with a referee during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons forward Tim Hardaway Jr. (8) gets to the basket as Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers forward Rui Hachimura drives to the basket as Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23), forward Tobias Harris (12) and guard Malik Beasley (5) celebrate a basket during the second half of their game against the Lakers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers star LeBron James takes a 3-point shot during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers star LeBron James warms up before their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Lakers star Anthony Davis warms up before their game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Show Caption1 of 43Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham handles the ball as Lakers guard Max Christie defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Expand LOS ANGELES — An NBA team’s identity can be fickle throughout an 82-game regular season. And the Lakers’ 117-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night showed they’re still ironing out their latest one. Through the first month of the season, the Lakers’ offense carried them to a strong start. The following month, their defense either kept them in games or outright won them. Monday’s game looked like more of the former, but without the victory, as the Lakers dropped to 16-13 and saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. “The bad teams probably go through 20-30 identities – the good teams probably go through 8-12 identities,” first-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick said earlier this month. “The really good teams probably still go through 3-5 identities. It’s a long season.” LeBron James had 28 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds for his eighth triple-double of the season (120th of his career) for the Lakers, but he missed a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Anthony Davis had 19 points, 10 rebounds, six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals on a night when the Lakers turned the ball over 20 times (leading to 28 Pistons points). “We were just loose with the ball,” Davis said. “We were trying to make the right plays. But they do a good job of creating turnovers and it’s hard to win a game with 20. But we’ve just got to be better with the basketball, everybody. That’s what was the difference in the game. When we were in the halfcourt, we were pretty good defensively. But the turnovers were a big part of why they won.” The Lakers had 13 more free-throw attempts than the Pistons (25-12) but finished with 18 fewer shots from the field. “It’s very hard to win in this league if you give the other team 15 more scoring opportunities than you did,” Redick said. “That’s it. It’s hard to win.” Max Christie scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range). Austin Reaves had 12 points and seven rebounds but six turnovers, saying after the game that he needs to play better. “They’re a really aggressive defensive team, and myself personally, I didn’t handle it well,” he said. The Pistons used a 16-4 run to build a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. The Lakers trailed 117-106 with just over three minutes remaining, struggling to slow a Detroit offense that found its rhythm from behind the arc, knocking down 11 of its first 26 3-pointers before missing the last four. The Lakers made a comeback attempt when Rui Hachimura assisted Christie on a 3-pointer to cut their deficit to eight and James converted a three-point play on a fadeaway jumper, knocking down the free throw to trim the margin to five. James then made a layup to cut the Lakers’ deficit to three with 46 seconds left. It looked like Davis was going to head to the free-throw line for a pair of shots after Tobias Harris was called for a shooting foul against Davis on his roll to the rim after James drove into the paint and collapsed Detroit’s defense. But Pistons coach J. B. Bickerstaff challenged the call and the play was overturned on video review, giving Detroit possession with a three-point lead and 28.9 seconds remaining. The Lakers forced Cade Cunningham (20 points, 10 assists, five rebounds) to miss a step-back 3-point attempt to regain possession with 3.7 seconds left, but James missed an open 30-footer on an after-timeout play to seal the loss. Related Articles Lakers | Lakers coach JJ Redick points to low 3-point volume as a reason for offensive lull Lakers | Lakers’ growing trust leading to defensive surge Lakers | Lakers’ JJ Redick remains confident in Anthony Davis’ late-game free-throw shooting Lakers | Lakers beat Kings to complete 2-game sweep in Sacramento Lakers | Lakers ready for 2nd leg of quick series against Kings “We got the look we wanted and it just didn’t go,” James said. In addition to the 20 turnovers, the Pistons outscored the Lakers 64-40 in the paint. Having problems with the league’s more physical, athletic teams is not a new issue for the Lakers, but James said there are things they can try to do to help combat those kinds of opponents. “We gotta be stronger. That’s all,” the four-time league MVP said. “We gotta do it as a team. We gotta help guys get open. When guys are pressuring the ball, you gotta help guys screen better. You gotta screen better. You gotta use your triple-threat (position). When you have a live dribble, get guys up off you. “It’s not something you can learn, though. You don’t learn to be more physical. It’s either in you or it’s not.” Former Laker Malik Beasley scored 21 points off the bench (five 3-pointers) to lead the Pistons (13-17). Jaden Ivey added 18 points as Detroit beat the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers on the road to win consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 17 and just the third time all season.