Clippers Get Roughed Up

The Detroit Pistons could not beat the Clippers when they played in December at Staples Center, so they beat up on them and got away with it Thursday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Pistons hacked and slashed their way to a 105-92 victory before an announced crowd of 15,146, seemingly clobbering the Clippers on every drive and sending them home with a 3-4 record on their trip.

The Clippers hit the All-Star break with a 25-26 record, hit being the operative word on a night when the Pistons roughed up their opponents.

It’s the Clippers’ best mark at the break since they were 26-25 in 1992-93.

Seven Pistons scored in double figures, led by Jerry Stackhouse, who had 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Elton Brand had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Jeff McInnis had 23 points to lead the Clippers.

On another night, with different referees, the Clippers might have won by 20 points, shooting free throws endlessly. But with Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington and Bill Kennedy overseeing this slugfest, it seemed that almost anything short of assault was deemed within the rules.

“Did you hear the slaps out there?” Brand asked. “We can’t use it as an excuse, but there definitely were a lot of calls that didn’t go our way tonight.”

Coach Alvin Gentry, fined earlier this season for critical comments about the officiating, at first refused to talk about the lack of calls.

“They’ve already got $7,500 of my money,” he said. “I’m not going to touch that. I’m not saying anything about the officials.”

Unable to resist, however, Gentry then added, “We usually do a good job of taking the ball to the basket. We do a good job of getting to the foul line in most games.”

Thursday’s game was an exception. The Clippers shot 20 free throws, making 16. They believed they could have shot a lot more. Detroit’s game plan was obvious: play physically.

When the Pistons played it the Clippers’ way, they were outscored, 26-11, in the fourth quarter Dec. 16 and suffered an 82-77 defeat. The Pistons promptly went into a 3-13 slide.

Wanting no part of a similar slump, the Pistons contested every shot the Clippers attempted Thursday. Brand got the worst of it, although he managed to fight his way through the Pistons to make 10 of 18 short-range shots. He shot only seven free throws, making five.

Powered by a 21-10 run in the fourth quarter, the Pistons raced away from the Clippers. Detroit’s reserves began the run, with Zeljko Rebraca, Damon Jones, Jon Barry and Corliss Williamson igniting the Pistons with baskets that would help turn a tie score into a 92-82 lead midway through the fourth.

Rebraca and Barry also ignited a scuffle late in the game, Rebraca tossing an elbow that struck Quentin Richardson and Barry tossing a few choice words at Richardson after a jump ball was called at the Clipper end of the court.

“He ran up in it,” Richardson would later say of Barry. “It was nothing to begin with, then the big boy [Rebraca] started pushing. [Barry] ran up and said something. You say something to me, I’m not going to back down.”

Cooler heads prevailed.

Although a so-so defender, Barry was successful at tormenting the Clippers offensively. He made three of five three-point baskets en route to 11 points.

Barry’s no-look pass to a streaking Williamson on a fastbreak led to a layup, a foul and a three-point play that pushed the Pistons’ lead to 95-82 with 5:33 remaining.

The Clippers, road weary and nursing all manner of strains, sprains, bumps and bruises, wilted down the stretch.

The Pistons grew stronger.

A last-ditch effort to maintain contact failed when the Clippers began to foul Ben Wallace, a 45% free-throw shooter.

Trouble was, Wallace made three of eight and the Clippers got only a McInnis jumper during a 90-second sequence that had Piston fans booing Gentry’s tactics.

Soon enough, the final buzzer sounded and the Clippers flew home to mend their wounds over the All-Star break.