Rowan Kavner
Score: LAC 105 – DET 103
DETROIT – Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy called Blake Griffin the best passing big in the game before his matchup Monday night against the Clippers.
The Clippers’ forward showed why he earned that praise later that night.
Griffin found J.J. Redick for the game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime, and when the Pistons doubled Griffin in a tie game with fewer than 30 seconds remaining, Griffin recorded his seventh assist of the night finding a wide open Jamal Crawford for the go-ahead 3-pointer in a 105-103 win.
Doc Rivers said the road trip could go from good to great with a win in Detroit. It became one, as Redick, Griffin and Crawford ensured the Clippers would go home 4-1 on the trip, though it didn’t look like that’d happen in the fourth quarter.
Next Game: 12/16
The Clippers led by 13 points in the third quarter and took a 10-point lead into the fourth when disaster struck quickly, as the Pistons began the quarter on a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the game. They’d hold onto the lead the rest of the quarter until 19 seconds remained, when J.J. Redick forced overtime with his third 3-pointer of the night.
Before the long-range connection, Redick fouled Andre Drummond during the second of two free throws from Jamal Crawford, which brought the Clippers within two points and sent Drummond to the line at the other end. Drummond hit 1-of-2, setting up the scene for Redick’s game-tying 3-pointer, and Reggie Jackson couldn’t answer before regulation ended.
Redick finished with 24 points, and the Clippers improved to 5-0 when he scores at least 20 points in a game this season.
The Clippers were in complete control until the start of the fourth quarter, which was a major struggle for the backups, who were all on the wrong side of the plus-minus for the game. The Clippers couldn’t find their stroke, and the defense, which had held the Pistons to just 12 points in the second quarter to take control of the game, started to slip.
Detroit shot 35.9 percent in the first half, at which point Reggie Jackson was 4-for-5 from the floor and the rest of the Pistons’ starters were only 5-for-23.
The Clippers didn’t give up any ground in the third quarter, outscoring the Pistons by a point. Detroit came out quickly to start the second half, getting the lead down to seven, but a quick 6-0 run from the Clippers put them in a comfortable spot. The Pistons wouldn’t get within eight points of tying the Clippers the rest of the third quarter.
But then came the fourth, as a group of five reserves watched a double-digit lead dwindle to three in fewer than three minutes. At that point, Doc Rivers put Blake Griffin back in the game with the backups to limit the damage, but the momentum was strictly with Detroit, and a couple minutes later the Pistons had the lead.
They’d keep it until Redick’s game-tying 3-pointer with 19 seconds left. Redick’s 24 points trailed only Griffin’s 34 to lead the Clippers.
