LOS ANGELES — Sunday was a night of firsts for both the Detroit Pistons and LA Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard, just in drastically different ways.

Leonard exploded for a 55-point double-double to notch his first 50-point game and a new career high. For the Pistons, it was their first time this season failing to register a made 3-pointer in the first half.

Detroit was 0-of-12 from long range through the first 24 minutes. Though the team found its stride in the second half to finish 7-of-29, it had already dug a 26-point hole that was too deep to climb out of. While Leonard’s scoring outburst was the focal point, the Pistons’ inability to cash in from beyond the arc only compounded their struggles.

Detroit’s typically stout defense, which ranks second in the NBA with a 110.9 defensive rating entering Monday despite being obliterated by Leonard, has largely kept it atop the Eastern Conference this season. And while the Pistons’ 112-99 loss Sunday involved their defense not being up to par, it also highlighted their need to improve offensively. Especially from beyond the arc.

The Pistons rank 24th in the association in 3-point percentage at 34.7. Duncan Robinson is the team’s most reliable option from 3, connecting on 38.7 percent of his triples while attempting 7.4 per game.

Jaden Ivey, who played a season-high 29 minutes in the loss, has shot 39.6 percent on 3.1 attempts from 3 since returning from preseason knee surgery. Caris LeVert, who exited Sunday’s game with left knee soreness, is shooting 38.4 percent from 3.

But Detroit will need to become more consistent from deep to take the next step in its offensive progression. The Pistons’ lack of dependable shooting from long range is the reason so many teams have felt comfortable dropping into a zone to stifle their offensive flow, though the Clippers didn’t feel the need to.

Cade Cunningham, who’s shooting 33.1 percent from 3 this season, put the onus on himself after the game to be better about putting his teammates in position to succeed from distance.

“First half, we didn’t do a good job of getting each other good shots and making clean passes,” Cunningham said. “(Didn’t) allow each other to get good looks. Starting with me on the ball, getting guys good shots in their shooting pocket.”

When shots aren’t falling for Detroit, it puts even more pressure on the defense to create points in transition off of turnovers.

The burden usually falls on Robinson to alleviate that pressure. Just take a look at his win-loss splits from deep. Robinson has played in 30 games this season, with the team going 23-7. In those wins, Robinson has shot 42 percent from 3-point range. In the losses, he’s shooting 27.1 percent. On Sunday, he made just 1 of 6 from 3.

Per Cleaning The Glass, 80 percent of Robinson’s shot attempts this season had come from 3-point range entering Sunday’s loss, ranking in the 97th percentile for wings. While that’s been Robinson’s usual shot diet during his career, he needs reinforcements.