Clippers win third straight, are tied for first place in West
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) grabs a rebound in front of Pistons’ Andre Drummond (0) during the first half on Nov. 7.
It’s one thing to dominate an opponent, as the Clippers did from opening tip to final buzzer in a 114-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Staples Center on Monday night. It’s another thing to toy with a team, an opportunity afforded the Clippers when they built a 36-point lead early in the third quarter.
Garbage time came surprisingly early against one of the Eastern Conference’s better teams, allowing the usually free-wheeling Clippers to play with even fewer constraints than they normally do.
That might explain point guard Chris Paul throwing an around-the-back pass to Blake Griffin from one side of the free-throw line to the other, and Griffin then dribbling behind his back and lobbing a pass to DeAndre Jordan for a dunk and a 75-37 lead with nine minutes left in third quarter.
And Paul, after picking the pocket of Detroit center Andre Drummond under the Pistons basket, dribbling down the floor, pulling up behind the three-point arc, waiting as if to see whether anyone might want to challenge him, and draining a 25-footer for an 80-43 lead with six minutes left in the period.
And Paul, a few minutes later, shaking and faking Tobias Harris with a double crossover dribble in the left corner and stepping back for a three-pointer and an 86-47 lead.
It was that kind of night for the Clippers, who won their 11th consecutive game over Detroit dating to November 2010, improved to 6-1, the best start in franchise history, and, coming off road wins at Memphis and San Antonio, continued to show they belong among the NBA’s elite.
“We are good, but not great yet in my opinion,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “We were great tonight, and we played well against a team in their first game of a long trip. I know we can get a lot better. Good is OK, but great is better, and that has been our attitude.”
The sharpshooting Paul scored 24 points, making all five of his three-point shots and eight of 10 field-goal attempts. He added eight assists and six rebounds in just 241/2 minutes.
J.J. Redick scored 20 points, 13 of them coming in the third quarter, when he drained two three-pointers from the left corner and shot four for five from the field.
Griffin finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and set the tone with a dominant first quarter in which he had 10 points, a season-high six assists and four rebounds, becoming the only NBA player to tally at least 10 points, six assists and four rebounds in a quarter this season.
After struggling with their shooting in the first four games, the Clippers shot 53.9% from the field (41 for 76) and 52% from three-point range (13 for 25).
“We were getting a lot of the shots we want to get but were just missing them,” Jordan said. “When J.J. is on fire like he was tonight and Luc [Mbah a Moute] is cutting and Blake is scoring from inside and out and making plays and so is C.P., then we’re really tough. You have to pick your poison with us because we have so many options.”
Much like they did in San Antonio on Saturday night, the Clippers stunned their opponent with a first-quarter blitz, taking a 33-15 lead on the strength of a 17-0 run that began with Redick’s 22-foot jumper at the 7:32 mark and ended with Griffin’s 18-footer at 2:54.
Griffin showed his full arsenal of offensive moves, muscling his way inside for a baby hook, dunking once, spotting up for a midrange jumper and hitting a shot from the top of the key.
But his best play came with about 31/2 minutes left in the period, when he lured defender Jon Leuer out beyond the three-point line with his dribble, drove into the key, whirled around in a spin-move and banked in a layup for a 26-8 lead.
The Clippers, who began the night with the NBA’s most efficient defense, limiting opponents to 90.7 points per 100 possessions, held the Pistons to 36.6% shooting from the field.
“The tone is set with the defense,” Rivers said, “and the offense is riding the defense’s coattails.”
Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna
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