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Pistons rout Clippers for seventh straight win

Feb 13, 2007 - 5:11 AM AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- Chris Webber and the Detroit Pistons are starting to get their swagger back.

Webber had 19 points and nine rebounds and Richard Hamilton scored 15 points as the Pistons extended their winning streak to seven games with a 92-74 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Tayshaun Prince netted 14 points and Rasheed Wallace chipped in 10 and two blocks for the Pistons, who have won six in a row at the Palace and against the Clippers.

With the win, Detroit (32-18) pulled within one game of tying its season-high eight-game winning streak set from December 17-January 1.

"It feels good (winning), and if you look at our losses you'll see how close they were," Webber said. "I'm excited, but we can do better. I'm excited about our potential, but potential means nothing."

The Pistons improved to 11-3 since signing Webber for the remainder of the season on January 16.

"He (Webber) is aggressive," Prince said. "There was a period there where he was just attacking the basket, making plays, going to the offensive glass. There was a point in the game where he took over and made great decisions."

"The Pistons have been playing very well and Webber gives them another dimension as far as creating easy buckets," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "It was a good pickup for them."

A Detroit native, Webber has managed to score in double figures in all but three games since joining the starting rotation.

"I'm definitely getting back into game shape and the area where I feel it the most is in free throws," Webber said. "It can get a lot better, personally, I can get a lot better. I'm excited to be in this position with these guys and this organization."

Detroit took control in the third quarter, using an impressive 15-3 surge through the opening 4 1/2 minutes for a 58-41 bulge behind Webber, who poured in eight points during the run.

"It's just the rhythm of the team," Webber said. "When guys are doing their thing, you let them go to work. When it's your turn, you go to work."

"I thought early we didn't contest many shots but late we started contesting shots and did a much better job," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "Team defense was solid. I thought it was very workmanlike."

The Pistons outscored the Clippers, 26-18, in the period and shot 47 percent (8-of-17) from the floor, coasting from there.

"In the second half, we just couldn't make shots," Dunleavy said. "If you shoot 32 percent for the game, you aren't going to beat any teams in this league."

Cuttino Mobley scored 17 points and Chris Kaman added 13 and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which finished just 2-5 on its seven-game East Coast road trip.

"This is the longest road trip of the year and we wanted it to turn out better than it did," Dunleavy said. "There were a couple games on the trip that we played against teams that we felt we could beat but we didn't get the job done. The only good news for us is that we haven't lost much ground in the standings."

The Clippers were without star forward Elton Brand, who was a last-minute scratch with back spasms. He leads the club in scoring (20.7) and rebounds (9.7).

"It hurt," Mobley said. "He's our leading scorer and that means that other guys need to pick up the slack, and some guys aren't used to that. Guys came in and did what they could."

Los Angeles continues to struggle away from the Staples Center this season, falling to a woeful 8-19 - fifth worst in the Western Conference.