Nov. 27--REPORTING FROM AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chris Paul finished with 23 points and seven assists and Jamal Crawford had 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help the Clippers defeat the Detroit Pistons, 104-98, Wednesday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Clippers improved to 4-1 on their seven-game trip that continues in Houston on Friday and concludes in Utah on Saturday.
At some point, it was assumed the Clippers would break out of their doldrums.
They trailed, 27-25, after the first quarter, 51-48, at halftime and, 73-72, after three quarters.
But even when they took an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Clippers still had problems putting the Pistons away.
In fact, when the Pistons cut the Clippers' lead to 93-91, Coach Doc Rivers leaped out of his seat and called a timeout with 2:39 left.
His team responded with a Blake Griffin reverse layup and a Paul three-pointer for a 98-91 lead that stood.
