Lakers lose on James' 41st birthday

Cunningham, Pistons steal the show in LA

- 

Cade Cunningham scored 27 points as the Detroit Pistons spoiled LeBron James' 41st birthday with a 128-106 drubbing of the depleted Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

The Lakers' final home game of the year got under way in a festive atmosphere, with the Crypto.com Arena hoping to salute James as he celebrated his birthday.

But the Lakers, missing the injured Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent, were always chasing the game against a Pistons lineup who led for most of the contest.

The home side threatened to haul themselves back into contention after tying the game at 79-79 midway through the third quarter.

That though was the cue for Detroit to crank up their offence, and the Eastern Conference leaders outscored Los Angeles 49-27 down the stretch to cruise home.

The Lakers' attempts to generate any kind of offensive momentum ended up being hamstrung by a string of errors.

The Pistons scored 30 points off 20 Lakers turnovers.