Clippers’ bad trip ends in bad loss

Playing without Elton Brand at the end of a long, disappointing trip, the Clippers figured things would be difficult for them Monday night against the formidable Detroit Pistons.

They were correct.

The Pistons provided a fitting ending to the Clippers’ unsuccessful trip in a 92-74 blowout victory in front of a sellout crowd of 22,076 at the Palace.

With leading scorer Brand sidelined because of back spasms, the Clippers matched their lowest point total of the season. They continued a troubling trend of struggling on offense in the second half, shooting poorly from the field (32.4% for the game) as the Pistons increased a seven-point halftime lead to a 15-point cushion at the end of the third quarter.

The Pistons led by 24 in the fourth quarter in their seventh consecutive victory, which also completed the Clippers’ longest trip of the season.

The Clippers (25-27) finished 2-5 on the 12-day trip, and their performance seemed to stir concern in the locker room about whether the team is good enough to earn a playoff berth in the Western Conference.

A group that once aspired to challenge the Phoenix Suns for the Pacific Division title seemed shaken after its fourth defeat of at least 12 points on the trip. At 52 games into the season, the Clippers are running out of time to begin a turnaround, players said, and it’s about professional accountability now.

“Everyone in this locker room has to look in the mirror -- everyone -- and identify what they have to do in order to make us successful,” Sam Cassell said. “That goes for me and that goes for Elton Brand.

“We’re the leaders, so we’ve got to dig inside [ourselves] to find what we need to pull out of our guys. It’s not going to get any easier, I don’t care who you play, and we have to understand that aspect. A lot of times, I don’t think we understand.”

Cuttino Mobley agreed.

“Going 2-5 on this trip ... this was a bad trip,” said Mobley, who led the Clippers with 17 points. “We as a team have to realize it’s time to have a sense of urgency, especially when you’re 45, 50 games into it, and you’re racing for a playoff spot.

“You have to expect to come out every night and play a certain way. You have to have that ‘dog’ in you. You have to have that fight in you, you have to expect everybody is going to have that when you go out there, and we need more of that.”

The Clippers said they knew what to expect Monday from Detroit.

The Pistons (32-18) have the best record in the Eastern Conference and lead the Central Division by 2 1/2 games over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

All five Pistons starters scored in double figures, led by center Chris Webber, who had 19 points and nine rebounds. Detroit is 11-3 since signing Webber on Jan. 16.

“He is aggressive,” Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said of Webber. “There was a period there where he was just attacking the basket, making plays, going to the offensive glass.

“He kind of got the lead from 10 to 17, 18. There was a point in the game when he took over and made great decisions.”

Said Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups: “We knew that they were on the back end of a long trip. We just wanted to jump on them early and stay on them.”

Even with Brand, the Clippers would have faced a formidable challenge against Detroit. Without Brand, they were in big trouble.

“The only good news for us is that we haven’t lost too much ground in the standings,” said Coach Mike Dunleavy, whose team would be seeded eighth if the playoffs began today. “In the next 30 games, we’ve got to take care of business.”

jason.reid@latimes.com