Clipper Victory Comes at Perfect Time for Gentry

The basketball gods finally took care of Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry . . . at least for one night.

In his first game against the Detroit Pistons, the same franchise that fired him last season, Gentry got some payback and saw his Clippers overcome a huge hurdle.

The Clippers ended an eight-game overtime losing streak with their first such victory of the season, defeating Detroit, 111-106, Monday night before 11,858 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Veteran center Sean Rooks, who already has two game-winning plays to his credit this season, along with rookie Darius Miles, who started in place of injured Cherokee Parks (back) at power forward, stepped up with big baskets in the final 76 seconds of overtime to make sure the Clippers also ended a five-game overall losing streak and improve to 1-4 on this seven-game trip.

“It was a big win for Coach to come back to Detroit, his old home,” said Miles, whose layin in traffic gave the Clippers a 105-104 lead in overtime. “I know he wanted to come out on top and show that he is doing good now. It’s good for the team to get a win.”

Gentry, fired by Detroit after 58 games last season, still had some uneasy moments, even though the Clippers dominated for three quarters.

Just like they did in Sunday’s overtime loss at New Jersey and in an overtime loss at Miami to open this trip, the Clippers blew a big second-half lead against the Pistons, who outscored them, 30-20, in the fourth quarter.

“We just did not compete in the first half,” Detroit’s Ben Wallace said. “In the second half, we came out and competed . . . we put our pride on the line.”

Detroit, which had defeated the Clippers 12 consecutive times, had a chance to win in the final seconds of regulation but Jerry Stackhouse, who finished with 28 points and is the NBA’s third-leading scorer, passed up a chance to shoot. By the time Stackhouse’s pass got to Jerome Williams, the 24-second shot clock had expired with the score tied at 96.

Once in overtime, both teams held small leads until Miles put the Clippers ahead for good. Rooks then helped seal the victory with a 17-foot jump shot to put the Clippers ahead, 107-104, with 33.4 seconds remaining and a defensive rebound off a Stackhouse miss on Detroit’s next possession.

Rooks, immediately fouled, made two free throws and Detroit’s Dana Barros made a basket at the buzzer to provide the final scoring.

“I just wanted to go in and do my part,” said Rooks, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds. “[The coaches] told me my shot had been flat, so I went out there and concentrated on my shot. I wasn’t thinking about [making key plays] but fortunately I was able to grab some boards, make a key shot and knock down some free throws.”

With Lamar Odom, who scored a career-high 34 points the day before against the Nets, having an off game because of foul trouble, the Clippers received a total team effort. Odom did manage to score 10 of his 12 points in the final six minutes of regulation and overtime but the Clippers finished with seven players scoring at least 12.

Eric Piatkowski had a team-high 20 points, while Jeff McInnis had 12 points and 12 assists. Corey Maggette had 15 points and six rebounds, and Miles had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

If Gentry felt any extra satisfaction for the victory, it didn’t show.

“We were in desperate need of a win,” Gentry said. “We needed a win on the road and we needed a win in overtime. All of those things worked to our advantage . . . but it counts as just one win and it has nothing to do about coming back here.”