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Pistons Pull Out All The Stops To Hand Clippers First Road Loss, 108-97

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points and a career-high 10 assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-97 on Friday night.

Detroit won its second straight and improved to 7-2 at home, as opposed to 1-7 on the road. The Clippers lost for just the second time in 13 games, falling to 7-1 on the road.

Marcus Morris scored 17 points and Andre Drummond had 16 points and 10 rebounds, as the Pistons got at least 15 points from all five starters. Jon Leuer added 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

J.J. Redick and Blake Griffith each had 24 points for the Clippers, while Chris Paul had eight points to go with 15 assists.

The Pistons trailed by as many as 43 in a 114-82 road loss to the Clippers on Nov. 7, but jumped out to a 31-14 lead in Friday's first quarter. However, with Drummond limited to 8:19 in the first half by foul trouble and Morris playing just 3:42, the Clippers were able to pull within 57-48 at halftime.

Even with Drummond on the bench, the Pistons outscored Los Angeles 34-18 in the paint. They also forced nine Clippers turnovers while only committing one.

The Pistons built the margin to as many as 18 early in the third, with Caldwell-Pope finding Drummond for several alley-oops. However, Redick took over the game, scoring 10 points in the final 1:27 of the quarter. His back-to-back 3-pointers pulled the Clippers within 82-80 at period's end.

Los Angeles scored the first four points of the fourth to take the lead, but stopped hitting shots. That let the Pistons respond with a 15-2 run, capped off by Caldwell-Pope's 3-pointer to make it 97-86 with 5:14 to play.

TIP-INS

Clippers: Paul didn't score in the second half, but put up 10 assists. ... With the Pistons moving to Little Caesars Arena for the 2017-18 season, this was the Clippers' final regular-season visit to the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Pistons: Guard Stanley Johnson was suspended for one game after an unspecified violation of team rules. That left the Pistons without three rotation guards, as both Reggie Jackson and Reggie Bullock missed the game with left knee injuries.

PLAY MAKER

With Jackson not expected to play his first game until next week, Caldwell-Pope was the first Detroit player to reach double figures in assists in a game.

UP NEXT

Clippers: Visit the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

Pistons: Visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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