The Detroit Pistons fell to 0-5 on the season on Wednesday night, as they went down early to the Sacramento Kings and lost 105-103. Big man Greg Monroe still managed to give Pistons fans a reason to smile, as he collected his first career triple-double by pouring in 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds (five offensive) and dishing out 11 assists.
The Kings received a strong effort from DeMarcus Cousins (21 points, 11 rebounds) and a solid performance from Tyreke Evans (15 points on 11 shots, seven assists). They held off a second half surge from the Pistons thanks quality play from Evans and Jason Thompson.
For the Pistons, Brandon Knight (21 points on 10 shots, four assists) did his best to supplement Monroe's stellar effort, but a horrid second quarter doomed Detroit. Over at Detroit Bad Boys, the triple-double from Monroe received some much deserved attention:
As Mike Payne pointed out, Greg Monroe became the Pistons' first big man in franchise history to record a triple double with assists. You heard it here first. It was the first triple double in the NBA this season. It was the Pistons' first triple double since Chauncey Billups did it in February 2004 (20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) and the first from a Pistons center since Ben Wallace in November 2002 (12 points, 19 rebounds and 10 BLOCKS).
Kings rookie Thomas Robinson was ejected from the game early in the fourth quarter after he threw a vicious elbow that hit Jonas Jerebko in the throat. Robinson finished the game with two points and seven rebounds, and he may get a call from the league office in the near future.
The Pistons play the Oklahoma City Thunder in a road game on Friday night.