Detroit falls to 0-8 – their worst start in franchise history – after playing their closest game of the season. A decisive 30-17 fourth quarter by the Thunder won them the game, as they had entered the quarter down 73-62, including 18-of-18 from the free throw line. The Pistons, however, got just 1-of-2 free throws in the same frame, primarily because they stopped playing aggressively and took more jumpers.

The duo simply couldn’t stop OKC’s Russell Westbrook, however, who stuffed the stat line with 33 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals on his 24th birthday. The dynamic guard was simply too much to handle for any of the team’s guards, as he drew two fouls on Knight and Will Bynum in the first quarter alone.

OKC’s other top players, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, also had monster nights against the Pistons. Durant had 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks – 11 of those points and all four blocks came in the fourth – while also committing just one foul. Ibaka nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, seven rebounds and six blocks. The defense of these two alone kept the Pistons weary of driving to the basket, leaving them an outside-shooting team for the fourth quarter.

Rodney Stuckey easily had his best offensive game of the season with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with five assists and just two turnovers. His backcourt mate, Brandon Knight, however, struggled mightily, shooting just 15% from the field for eight points.

All in all, head coach Lawrence Frank has plenty of positives to take from this game. His team was better in every statistical category besides free throw shooting (18-of-27 to OKC’s 37-of-42), rebounding (39 to 44) and blocks (seven to 12); his bench showed they can bring more energy and create leads that the starters can build on and they really can play well against good teams.

Unfortunately, they had to find all that out in another loss, and one to a team that was tired from travel. They’ll get another chance at their first win on Wednesday night when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 4-3 76ers. The rested Sixers are coming off a 93-83 victory against the Raptors on Saturday night. Tip-off from Philadelphia is 7 p.m.

In the team’s 105-94 loss, the 19-year old center had 22 points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block in 21 minutes. He also shot 8-of-10 in the most action he’s seen this year. His frontcourt mate, Greg Monroe, approached yet another triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Both of the Pistons’ young big men were active and physical on the offensive and defensive ends, helping Detroit to 41 rebounds.

Detroit’s backcourt of Brandon Knight and Rodney Stuckey had another awful shooting night, going 9-of-24 combined, but the duo contributed for 26 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds and just three total turnovers. Not only that, they pressured Oklahoma City’s dynamic point guard Russell Westbrook into 3-of-10 shooting and just 10 points – 8.2 points below his average. The Thunder’s other starting guard, Thabo Sefolosha, didn’t do much offensively either, scoring four points.

The game turned to OKC’s favor primarily because of Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant. One of the more efficient scorers in the league, Durant had 25 points on 16 shots, including two three-pointers that helped clinch the game late. He also led both teams in terms of rebounding with 13. Ibaka matched him on the offensive end, shooting 9-of-13 for 25 points also; he added seven rebounds and three blocks as well.

All in all, this was a game that the Pistons probably shouldn’t have been able to win, considering the recent success and talent level of Oklahoma City. Either way, they nearly pulled it out, despite several breakdowns on defense. If they can learn to minimize the late-game mistakes they’ve made in their season-opening slide, they have the raw talent to get back into the win column.

Detroit will get the chance to avenge their Opening Day loss to the Rockets and get their first win tonight at 8 p.m. Houston star James Harden has cooled off considerably since his breakout game against the Pistons, shooting 17-of-57 (30%) from the field in his last three games. He’s also totaled just 13 rebounds, 11 assists and 16 turnovers in that same span.