Monday, March 11, 2013
Sports News

Clippers hand Pistons 5th straight defeat, 129-97

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[March 11, 2013]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Blake Griffin led seven players in double figures with 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Detroit Pistons 129-97 on Sunday night for their 10th win in 13 games.

Chris Paul had 20 points and 14 assists, and Caron Butler added 15 points before leaving in the third quarter with a left elbow contusion. Matt Barnes had 16 points, DeAndre Jordan added 13 points and seven rebounds, Willie Green 11 points and Chauncey Billups 10 points.

The Clippers set season highs for points scored and shooting percentage (62) while leading the entire game. Their old high of 125 points came in a win over the Lakers last month.

Jose Calderon was one of five Pistons in double figures with 18 points as they lost their fifth in a row overall, fourth straight to the Clippers, and fell to 0-11 on the road against Western Conference opponents.

Pistons coach Lawrence Frank missed his third straight game because of a family matter. Assistant Brian Hill, who is running the team, said he doesn't expect Frank back for the remainder of the four-game trip.

The Clippers dominated the paint, 56-28, and in fast-break points, 22-10, while improving to 25-7 at home.

Paul picked up his fourth foul early in the fourth quarter and sat down to watch the second unit finish off the game.

Los Angeles opened the third period on a 12-1 run that increased its lead to 82-55. Griffin scored seven points, highlighted by his dunk off Paul's alley-oop pass, Billups hit a 3-pointer and Butler scored on a driving dunk. The quarter ended with the Clippers outscoring Detroit 11-5 to take a 98-70 lead into the fourth quarter. Paul scored their final six points after setting up Jordan for another thunderous dunk.

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The Clippers led 70-52 at halftime, getting six 3-pointers in the second quarter to produce their highest-scoring half this season. Barnes hit their first three long-range baskets in a row, then Green, Butler and Paul chipped in.

The Clippers built their largest lead of the half at 26 points on a 28-12 run that included two monster dunks from the 6-foot-11 Jordan. His first one off Paul's alley-oop pass left Brandon Knight -- who is 8 inches shorter -- flat on his back with a foul. That dunk quickly made Jordan a trending topic on Twitter.

NOTES: Clippers G Jamal Crawford missed his second straight game with a sore left ankle. He was shooting 60 percent and averaging 23.0 points in a four-game stretch before getting hurt. ... The Clippers were without G Eric Bledsoe (sore left calf). ... Hill said he speaks to Frank a couple times daily. "It's his team so we talk about personnel," Hill said. "He's pretty much letting me run it the way I want to run it, which is pretty much the way he runs it." ... Paul is five points from reaching 10,000 in his career. ... Detroit is 8-22 on the road. ... Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said G Maalik Wayns was signed to a 10-day contract to provide an extra body at practice. Crawford and Bledsoe haven't been practicing and F Trey Thompkins has been out all season. Wayns made his debut in the fourth quarter. ... San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick attended the game wearing a camouflage backpack.

[Associated Press; By BETH HARRIS]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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