Final
Prince propels Pistons past Clippers
Mar 2, 2008 - 7:16 AM By Jonathan Raber PA SportsTicker Contributing WriterLOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Even with guard Chauncey Billups back home attending to a personal matter, the Detroit Pistons had little trouble picking up for their absent teammate and continuing their domination of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tayshaun Prince had 22 points and 10 assists for the Pistons en route to a 103-73 rout of the Clippers on Saturday.
With Billups missing his third game of the season, Detroit gave rookie Rodney Stuckey his first start and seamlessly handled Los Angeles on its way to its 11th consecutive win over the Clippers.
"We knew we were missing one key component, so other people needed to step up and fill in, and tonight that happened," Pistons center Rasheed Wallace said.
Wallace had 17 points and four blocked shots while Richard Hamilton and Juan Dixon each chipped in 14 points. Stuckey added nine points.
"We hit them early and got hot," Prince said. "We had nice ball movement and Rasheed was a force for us. We put good pressure on the ball and also tried to mix it up a lot. There were times when I was running the point just so we could try out some different looks."
The Pistons took care of business early, using a 10-0 run sparked by four points from Prince midway through the second quarter to turn a 40-35 lead into a 15-point advantage. They maintained that momentum to take a 55-42 halftime advantage.
After taking that same 13-point bulge into the fourth period at 76-63, Prince and Jason Maxiell each scored to extend the lead to 17 points.
Both teams traded scores over the next three minutes until the Pistons turned up their defense and held the Clippers down over the final 5:32, outscoring Los Angeles over that stretch, 15-2, to account for the final margin.
"(Our) bench played good tonight," Wallace said. "We left it up to them to win it or lose it for us and I think they played pretty good."
The Clippers shot just 4-of-17 in the final quarter and were outscored, 27-10.
Clippers center Chris Kaman returned to the lineup after a five-game absence because of a sore lower back and recorded his 32nd double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
"There have been a lot of guys in and out and it's tough to find chemistry," Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley said. "You lose confidence and lose focus sometimes, and other teams are coming out at you with a full spread."
Corey Maggette added 22 for the Clippers, who shot just 35 percent (24-for-69) from the floor to drop their fifth straight contest.
- NBA
DETROIT 103
LA CLIPPERS 73 FINAL
Mar 2 12:51 AM - NBA
DETROIT 76
LA CLIPPERS 61 END, 3RD QTR
Mar 2 12:23 AM - NBA
DETROIT 55
LA CLIPPERS 42 HALFTIME
Mar 1 11:39 PM - NBA
DETROIT 31
LA CLIPPERS 25 END, 1ST QTR
Mar 1 11:07 PM
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