No Fringe Benefits

They came here for the rings.

Sunday night, they got them.

Gary Payton watched Chauncey Billups run rings around him.

Karl Malone listened to Rasheed Wallace ring his ears.

The two title-starved veterans were one giant ring around the Laker collars, turning what should have been opening-night elegance into day-old laundry.

It was Detroit 87, Lakers 75, and at the end of this first game of the NBA Finals, both men had been knocked clear out of the, um, ring.

Payton, hampered by both foul trouble and an apparent foul mood, played only the last five minutes of the fourth quarter before fleeing his locker before the media arrived, leaving his teammates to answer for his two turnovers and one field goal.

We’ve wondered this before, but ... all this talk about his departing the Lakers this summer, maybe he’s gone already.

Malone, of course, was present and accountable. He scored four points, ended the game on the bench searching for answers, then later sat in front of his locker searching for comparisons.

He said, “My little boy could have done that.”

Then he said, “I missed shots you make in grade school.”

Then he added, “I could have knocked those shots down in my sleep.”

No offense to sleeping grade-school boys everywhere, but the numbers support him.

Combined, Malone and Payton were outscored by the men they were guarding, 36-7.

Combined, in the important first 24 minutes of this final career-affirming race, they were scoreless.

The only time they have been this awful together in the playoffs was the second-round opener in San Antonio, when they combined for 14 points in a beginning that looked like an ending.

It wasn’t, of course, and there is a good chance that Coach Phil Jackson will again make the adjustments to give his old guys some help.

But something about this time feels different.

As different as a loss on the road ... and the first loss in 10 playoffs games at Staples Center this year.

Back then, Malone wasn’t coming off the recurrence of a knee injury that required draining days earlier.

“I’m fine,” he claimed late Sunday, his feet resting in the usual ice bucket.

Back then, Payton wasn’t coming off three games of single-digit points, and it wasn’t yet clear that he would be the Lakers’ fourth option this spring.

There is some thought that Payton has grown increasingly vexed by the situation.

Standing in front of his locker Sunday, his ghost had no comment.

There is a strong probability that Payton was upset about not receiving much defensive help against Billups while once again rarely seeing the ball, getting only three shots in the first half.

To which the empty space in front of his locker said nothing.

By leaving your teammates to face the harsh chords after a stunning loss in the Finals, this point guard earned one more turnover while losing an assist.

Oh, and Derek Fisher? Payton’s backup? Scored only two points in 20 minutes?

He showed up.

“We didn’t play with enough energy and quickness,” he said.

This was never more evident than in the third quarter, and the testimony centered on Malone and Payton.

With the Lakers leading by one, Wallace opened the third quarter by making a wide-open three pointer.

“I over-committed on defense,” said Malone. “I didn’t trust my teammates. I have to do better.”

Moments later, Billups beat the defense for a reverse layup.

A couple of possessions later, Billups made an open three-pointer, followed by an open Wallace jumper, and the Pistons led by seven, establishing control they never really lost.

Payton has to figure out a way to stay with Billups while staying out of foul trouble. He’s not as quick as the Spurs’ Tony Parker, but he’s still younger and faster than the Artist Previously Known As Glove.

Malone has to figure out a way to get to the basket more often, as well as keep shooting that open jump shot.

Not that they weren’t involved, but, combined, Payton and Malone shot zero free throws.

Billups and Wallace, meanwhile, went 10 for 10 from the line.

“I got us out of sync, out of rhythm, and we never recovered,” said Malone. “When I bring the energy, when I’m doing the thing I’m supposed to be doing on the defensive end, I think they feed off me. I didn’t do that tonight.”

He later sighed. “And now they need three wins,” he said.

The Lakers still need four, a long way for a ring, a somewhat shorter trip for horns.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.