Kawhi Leonard Leads Clippers Past Pistons After Paul George Exits Injured

The Los Angeles Clippers held serve against the visiting Detroit Pistons with a 126-112 win at Staples Center on Thursday.

L.A. led 69-63 at halftime before putting this game away after outscoring Detroit 37-16 in the third quarter. The Pistons cut the lead to 118-108 late in the fourth but were unable to slash the deficit to single digits.

The short-handed Pistons led for most of a high-scoring first half and even held a 58-56 lead with 4:16 remaining following a Bruce Brown bucket, but L.A. ended the second quarter on a 13-5 run and kept its momentum into the third.

Clippers forward Paul George sat the second half with left hamstring tightness. The Clips initially ruled him questionable before declaring him out midway through the second half. He finished with 12 points, three assists and three rebounds.

Clips head coach Doc Rivers provided a postgame update on George's health:

L.A. forward Montrezl Harrell led all scorers with 23 points. Lou Williams added 22 more off the bench, and Kawhi Leonard dropped 18, six rebounds and five assists.

Nine Pistons scored in double digits, led by Bruce Brown's 15. Rookie forward Sekou Doumbouya had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double in his first career start.

The Pistons were without Blake Griffin, who missed his second straight game with a sore left knee. Luke Kennard (knee) and Markieff Morris (foot) also sat the contest.

Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley was sidelined with a sprained right wrist suffered against the Utah Jazz on Dec. 28.

L.A. improved to 25-11 after winning its second straight game. The 12-23 Pistons lost their eighth game in nine tries.

Notable Performances

Pistons C Andre Drummond: 10 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals

Pistons F Christian Wood: 14 points, 6 rebounds

Pistons G Derrick Rose: 14 points, 6 assists

Clippers F Kawhi Leonard: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists

Clippers F Montrezl Harrell: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks

Clippers G Lou Williams: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Clippers' Dominant Third Quarter Proves To Be Difference

The Pistons outscored the Clippers 96-89 in the first, second and fourth quarters.

The problem is that there is a third quarter, and the Clippers dominated that frame by outscoring Detroit by 21 points en route to the 10-point win.

L.A. entered the second half in a bit of trouble. The short-handed Pistons gave the Clips fits in the first half by running up and down the floor for 63 points and even leading late in the second quarter.

Plus, the Clips would be without Paul George, who scored 12 first-half points and helped L.A. build a six-point halftime edge.

Whatever adjustments made or speeches given during halftime apparently worked, though, with the Clips ending the quarter on a 23-6 run.

It was a total team effort.

Landry Shamet hit a pair of back-to-back threes.

Lou Williams scored seven points, which included one of his patented fadeaways:

And Maurice Harkless had four points, four boards and two assists. He took this one coast-to-coast for two:

When the third quarter was over, the Clips held a 106-79 lead, giving them more than enough cushion to cruise to the finish line even if Detroit nobly fought back down the stretch.

The question now is whether George is out for any period of time. While anything can happen on any given night in the Association, the team's near-future schedule is in their favor, with three home games against the 13-22 Memphis Grizzlies, 10-24 New York Knicks and 9-27 Golden State Warriors up next.

A road date with the 24-10 Denver Nuggets, who currently are the Clips' top competition for the West's No. 2 seed, is up after that stretch. But that isn't until Jan. 12, giving George some time to rest up before the big game.

Ultimately, the Clips were able to press on without one of their superstars as they kept pace with the Nuggets, who also won Thursday. 

What's Next?

The Pistons will continue their six-game Western Conference road swing against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Clippers will play the second matchup of a four-game homestand versus the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.