Pistons Beat Clippers, End Losing Streak at Five

Teams don’t usually consider games against the Clippers crucial--particularly teams that have won the past two NBA championships.

But the Detroit Pistons needed a victory Sunday and they got one.

Joe Dumars scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the Pistons ended their longest losing streak in five years, 107-98.

The Pistons had lost five consecutive games, their worst streak since losing six in a row from Dec. 21, 1985 to Jan. 3, 1986.

Mark Aguirre added 22 points and James Edwards and Vinnie Johnson had 20 each for the Pistons, who won for only the fourth time in their past nine home games. Bill Laimbeer had a season-high 20 rebounds for Detroit.

Danny Manning scored 31 points to lead the Clippers, who have the NBA’s third-worst road record at 5-25. No one else on the Clippers had more than 14 points.

Not helping their cause was Ron Harper’s four-for-20 shooting from the field.

“I couldn’t get anything to go into the basket,” Harper said. “This is the first time I’ve played two games in a row like this. I don’t have my timing back. The thing for me to do is not get down and just keep trying.”

Detroit took control in the third quarter as Edwards scored five points during a 10-2 run that turned a 53-51 halftime lead into a 63-53 spread.

The Pistons outscored the Clippers in the third quarter, 29-18, to carry an 82-69 lead into the final period.

Manning then scored 11 points during a 16-4 run that pulled the Clippers to an 86-85 deficit with 8:18 left. But Johnson scored six points as Detroit answered with a 10-2 run that rebuilt its lead to 96-87 with 3:44 remaining.

“Basically, the game was decided in the first six minutes of the third quarter,” Clipper Coach Mike Schuler said. “You can’t come out and have eight possessions and only get one basket. The Pistons came out as the aggressors.

“They looked at us as a big game to get that losing streak stopped.”

“Everybody realized this was almost a must-win game for us and we played like it,” Edwards said. “We were moving the ball real well and getting open shots. Except for a little lapse in the fourth quarter, we played well.”

“It’s a win we definitely needed to stop the bleeding,” Coach Chuck Daly said. “But Portland just lost four in a row with all their people, so it’s not difficult to do.

“It’s one step forward. Let’s hope we can take the next one Wednesday” at home against the Knicks.