Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 114-82 win over Detroit

The Clippers extended their win streak over Detroit to 11 games dating back to November 2010 and improved to 6-1 to start a season for the first time in franchise history. Here are five things we learned from their 114-82 victory Monday night.

1. The Clippers are good at defense. Really good. And it’s not just because of the way they move their feet and hands, the way they position themselves, their speed, athleticism, instincts and anticipation. It’s because of their attitude.

“I think we can be better than we actually have been,” power forward Blake Griffin said. “The thing I’ve noticed this year, compared to years past, is it really starts in practice. We get excited about defense. Most of the emphasis coming from the players is on defense, trying to get five, six steps in a row.”

Added point guard Chris Paul: “We get excited about stopping teams, trying to keep them under a certain number, so that’s something that can be contagious all season long.”

2. The Clippers are developing a killer mentality. They took a 33-15 lead in the first quarter Monday night, extended it to 62-32 by halftime and stretched it to 91-53 by the end of the third period before their reserves played the entire fourth quarter.

“We just kept defending and we kept running,” Paul said. “We kept making the extra pass, finding guys. We keep talking about not getting complacent. It may happen sometimes this year, but we actually talk about it, about getting up by 20 points and letting them cut it to eight. We’re trying to keep getting better.”

3. J.J. Redick appears to be shooting his way out of his early-season slump. The guard made 47.5% of his three-point shots last season but was shooting only 34.8% (eight for 23) from three-point range in the first six games. He made three of four three-pointers en route to a 20-point night against the Pistons.

4. Jamal Crawford may win his fourth NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award this season, but if there were awards for the Seventh and Eighth Man of the Year, the Clippers would have some candidates.

Their second unit — Crawford, Austin Rivers, Marreese Speights, Raymond Felton and Wesley Johnson — combined for 39 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists Monday night, with Rivers (11) and Felton (10) reaching double figures.

“I was worried — coaches always worry — when we subbed out for the first time,” Rivers said. “I was worried the second unit would come in and not play the right way with a big lead, and they did. That’s important.”

5. The Clippers are hungry and seem more determined than ever to advance past the second round of the playoffs for the first time.

“We’ve gone home early the last few years,” Jordan said. “It hurts. It sucks. We have to be able do to do things differently than we have in the past in order to have a different result. I feel like guys have seen that and have started to make changes.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna