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 Griffin had 25 points and Jordan racked up 16 points and 21
rebounds in the Clippers' 112-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons
on Monday afternoon at The Palace.
Griffin has scored at least 25 points in nine of the last 15 games,
while Jordan, who made seven dunks, has six double-doubles in the
last seven games. The Clippers have won six of the last seven games
without Paul, who separated his right shoulder on Jan. 3.
"Our big guys, they're so young," said Clippers reserve guard Jamal
Crawford, who had a team-high 26 points. "We feel like our frontline
is great now and they're only getting better. They both want to be
better. They're pushing each other, pushing our team and they're
really the anchors defensively and offensively."
Led by Jordan, the Clippers had a 44-30 rebounding advantage over
the team ranked No. 1 in total rebounding percentage. Detroit power
forward Greg Monroe was held to six points and three rebounds by
Griffin, while Detroit center Andre Drummond (15 points, 11
rebounds) was outplayed by Jordan.
Crawford carried the second unit, which lifted the Clippers during a
38-point second quarter. He has reached the 20-point mark in five of
the last eight games.
"Before, I was worried about (shooting) percentages and things like
that," he said. "When you do that, you block your own shot,
honestly. Coach (Doc Rivers) wants me to be aggressive and try to
make a play if the shot's not there. I'm just playing like I've
tried to play my whole life."
Guard J.J. Redick added 20 points and six assists for the Clippers,
who shot 55.6 percent from the field and improved to 2-1 on their
seven-game road trip.
Reserve guard Rodney Stuckey had a season-high 29 points and forward
Josh Smith contributed 24 — his fourth game in the last five with
at least 20 points — but Detroit lost for the seventh time in its
last eight home games. Detroit point guard Brandon Jennings, who
entered the game with a team-high 16.4-point scoring average, was
held scoreless.
"They got a lot of easy baskets early on," Pistons coach Mo Cheeks
said. "A lot of it was due to pick-and-rolls, where they were diving
to the rim and our big guys had to help. We tried to keep big on big
to eliminate some of those lob plays but that's what they do, that's
the way they play."
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The Pistons (17-24) hit the midway point of the season seven
games under .500.
"We're still new to each other," Smith said. "It's not going to
happen overnight. It's not going to happen in 40 games. We just
have to be able to figure out what we're doing right in those
games that we're winning and we have to try, as much as
possible, to mimic those special moments."
The Pistons whittled the Clippers' 11-point halftime lead to six
at 67-61, but the Clippers soon put the game away with an 11-2
run.
Los Angeles' lead grew to 20, 98-78, in the opening moments of
the fourth on center Ryan Hollins' dunk. The Pistons cut it to
nine with two minutes remaining before Jordan threw down his
seventh dunk.
"It was a good performance. It wasn't great," Griffin said. "We
relaxed too much at certain times there in the fourth quarter,
especially. I thought we should have done a better job of
putting it away but it was solid for a lot of guys and that's
what we need."
NOTES: Pistons reserve PG Will Bynum made his 1,000th career
field goal late in the first quarter. ... Clippers SF Matt
Barnes made his first start of the season. ... The Clippers won
the last four meetings. ... Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said he
has not altered the team's style since All-Star PG Chris Paul
suffered a right shoulder separation. Paul missed his eighth
consecutive game on Monday and is out indefinitely. "You can't
change a team in the middle of the year," he said. "We're not
trying to do too much different. We've just got to lean on our
defense and still move the ball offensively." ... The Clippers
will travel 11,275 miles during their seven-game road trip. The
Clippers are on an extended trip because the Staples Center is
hosting the Grammy Awards on Sunday. ... The Pistons have not
been over .500 at the midway point of the regular season since
they were 24-17 during 2008-09, the last time they made the
playoffs.
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