Phoenix’s Possession Waste Turns an 18-Point Lead Into a 109-107 Preseason Loss

Koa Peat’s dunk with 12.1 seconds remaining tied Detroit 107-107, briefly giving Phoenix a clean chance to steal a game it had led by 18 points. After a Pistons timeout, Ebuka Okorie drove for the winning layup with 5.8 seconds left. The Suns missed a 30-foot attempt with 0.3 seconds remaining and fell 109-107 in Monday’s preseason meeting at Little Caesars Arena.

For the Phoenix Suns, the finish was memorable only because the preceding arithmetic made it necessary. Phoenix shot better, rebounded better and still found a way to lose the possession battle by a margin too large for those advantages to survive.

Start at the foul line. The Suns made 17 of 33 free throws, missing 16. That is a 51.5% performance, and the missing points were not a minor blemish in a two-point game. Detroit also struggled there, making 26 of 41, but Phoenix left enough scoring behind at the stripe to create another sizable lead on paper.

Then add the turnovers. Phoenix had 29 player turnovers and three team turnovers, for 32 total. Detroit recorded 21 steals, a number that deserves credit without requiring an elaborate theory about how every giveaway happened. The Pistons scored 37 points off Phoenix’s turnovers. Phoenix scored 23 off Detroit’s 20 turnovers, so Detroit’s advantage from those extra possessions was 14 points.

That gap explains how a team can lose while looking superior in several of the conventional categories. Phoenix made 38 of 78 shots, or 49%, compared with Detroit’s 35 of 79. The Suns also hit 14 of 35 from 3-point range, while the Pistons went 13 of 36. Phoenix collected 47 rebounds to Detroit’s 35 and had a 14-13 edge in offensive rebounds.

Those are meaningful advantages. Phoenix produced enough scoring and rebounds to make its missed chances elsewhere costly. But missed free throws end possessions without points, and turnovers end them without a shot. A rebound can provide a second chance; it cannot recover a pass that has already become a steal.

The first half made the eventual collapse especially stark. Phoenix led 68-50 at halftime, its largest advantage reaching 19. Detroit erased the deficit with a 34-16 third quarter, leaving the teams tied 84-84 after three periods.

The Pistons did not need to win the shooting comparison to make the game competitive. They needed to keep converting the chances Phoenix supplied and wait for the margin to shrink.

Booker’s limited appearance belongs in the middle of the review rather than at the center of blame. He played 16 minutes, scored 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and made all four of his free throws. Jalen Green played 15 minutes and scored 11.

In a preseason game, those workloads provide important context: the late result came after Phoenix had used its established stars sparingly, and it should not be treated as a regular-season failure by Booker.

That context does not make the loose possessions imaginary. Haywood Highsmith committed five turnovers in 16 minutes, Ryan Dunn had three in 16 minutes, and Peat had two in 12 minutes while going 0-for-3 at the line. Peat still supplied the tying basket, and his play at the rim was one of the few crisp moments in the closing stretch.

The numbers describe one night and limited minutes, not permanent evaluations, but they also show why Detroit had enough chances to recover from a huge deficit.

The final sequence offered one last example. Phoenix missed, secured an offensive team rebound and still could not produce another shot before time expired. That scramble was the visible ending.

The loss was built earlier, in ordinary possessions when a pass became a steal or a free throw became empty space. Preseason softens the consequences, but it does not change the cost of giving away 32 possessions and 16 points at the line.

Sources

ESPN: game statistics and play-by-play