Despite Jaden Ivey's career night, Detroit Pistons fall at home to Utah Jazz, 126-111

On Nov. 23, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Utah Jazz on the road in convincing fashion.

Lauri Markkanen did his part to make sure Tuesday night’s rematch in Detroit wasn’t a repeat. The Jazz forward tied his career high with 38 points and hit nine of 13 3-point attempts to help Utah defeat the Pistons, 126-111, at Little Caesars Arena.

It overshadowed a career night from Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey, who scored a 30 points on 10-for-14 shooting and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line. Detroit struggled through another poor second half and was outscored, 65-51, after halftime.

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The Pistons' other lottery pick last summer, Jalen Duren, also had a strong night with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Bojan Bogdanovic also scored 15.

Ivey shakes slump

From Nov. 14 until Dec. 11, Ivey shot 36.1% overall and 25.4% from 3 though his averages over that stretch — 14.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds — were close to his norms. But his efficiency made it clear that he was experiencing an early rookie slump.

But the fifth overall pick appears to be snapping out of it. After tallying 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, he cracked the 20-point threshold for the first time since Nov. 20 on Tuesday. Ivey started off hot, making six of his first seven shots for 18 points in the first half. His first bucket of the night was a 3-pointer to put the Pistons on the board, but he otherwise did the bulk of his scoring by utilizing his strengths and attacking the basket.

Ivey scored 13 points in the final six minutes of the first half to help Detroit stay competitive as Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson got off to a hot start for Utah. Ivey's second 3-pointer of the night at the 2:39 mark of the second quarter tied the game at 52, and he added a midrange jumper, a floater and a pair of free throws to give Detroit a one-point deficit at halftime.

In his previous three games before Tuesday, Ivey shot 48.3% overall. Tuesday provided more evidence that his slump is behind him.

Duren continues to shine as a starter

Tuesday was Duren’s seventh consecutive game with double-digit rebounds, and fourth consecutive double-double. Along with Ivey, Duren gave Pistons fans weary from losing more reasons to be excited for the future.

Duren has quickly made a case for himself as not only the best rebounder on the roster, but the best vertical threat as well. He got off to a strong start, shutting down Utah defensively on one end in the opening period before finishing a layup four minutes into the game. At the 7:19 mark, he finished a poster dunk on fellow rookie center Walker Kessler after Isaiah Stewart blocked Kessler on the other end of the floor.

The Stewart-Duren tandem played with good synergy in the first half. Midway through the second quarter, Stewart was isolated under the rim and found Duren cutting for another dunk.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.

Next up: 76ers

Matchup: Pistons (8-25) at Philadelphia (17-12).

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Wednesday; Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WWJ-AM (950).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Despite Jaden Ivey's career night, Detroit Pistons fall to Utah Jazz