VIDEO: Lance Stephenson has cool reaction to Jamal Crawford’s clutch 3-pointer Monday at Detroit

Lance Stephenson didn’t even play for the Clippers in Monday night’s 105-103 overtime win at Detroit, drawing the DNP card. Yet, there seemingly was no one in the house more happy than Stephenson when Jamal Crawford hit this 3-point basket with 12.4 seconds to play in overtime for a 105-103 lead. Check it out:

Clippers’ guard Chris Paul says 4-1 road trip was ‘big for us’

Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford buries a 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds left in overtime, giving the Clippers a 105-103 victory at Detroit on Monday/AP photo by Carlos Osorio

 

The Clippers on Monday finished a five-game road trip, during which they found a way to win four. Of the victories, only one came against a team currently over .500 – the Detroit Pistons.

The good news is that was the final game of the trip, which could be an indicator the Clippers are starting to find themselves. Point guard Chris Paul, speaking after the Clippers’ 105-103 overtime victory over the Pistons, sees it that way.

“That’s big for us,” Paul said of the trip that saw victories over Minnesota, Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Detroit, with the lone loss coming against the Chicago Bulls – the best team the Clippers played on the trip.

“We’ve been going through our struggles and things like that,” Paul said, “so to be down like we were and to fight back like that and make the heads up cerebral plays that we made, I think is big for us.”

The Clippers (15-10), who Wednesday play host to Milwaukee at 7:30 at Staples Center (on Prime Ticket), led by 10 points (73-63) after three quarters. As has often been the case this season, the Clippers lost that lead and Detroit actually held a 6-point lead (87-81) with three minutes to play before the Clippers got tough and emerged victorious.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 105-103 OT victory at Detroit

Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford shoots the go-ahead three-point basket during overtime of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Monday, Dec. 14, 2015, in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Clippers defeated the Pistons, 105-103.

Jamal Crawford shoots and makes the go-ahead 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds left in the Clippers’ 105-103 overtime win Monday night at Detroit/AP photo by Carlos Osorio

 

– The Clippers led by 10 points after quarters, only to be outscored by 10 in the fourth to send the game into overtime. That’s not a great thing. However, after the Clippers trailed by as many as six points (87-81) with three minutes to play in regulation, they did a fine job down the stretch to take the game into the extra period.

– There were two men of the hour. J.J. Redick tied the game 94-94 in regulation with a 3-pointer with 19.6 seconds left in regulation. And Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds to play that gave the Clippers a 105-102 lead in overtime. Redick scored 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting, Crawford had 14 points in 26 minutes off the bench and made 5 of 8 from the field. Crawford also doled out four assists, Redick three. Good work by those two.

– Both DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin played 43 of the 53 minutes of game action. Next closest for the Clippers was Chris Paul, who played 38 minutes. Jordan had seven points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Griffin scored a game-high 34 points (as did Detroit’s Reggie Jackson) on 15 of 30 shooting. He also had seven assists, but pulled down only five rebounds.

– It’s understandable that the Pistons’ Jackson took the last shot in regulation that could have won the game for Detroit. Jackson was having a fine game. But taking the ball out with 19 seconds to play and then Jackson dribbling it for nearly all that time before firing up a 20-footer that missed with a second remaining just didn’t seem like the smartest play.

– The Clippers (15-10) finished their five-game road trip with a record of 4-1. But this was the best win because it came against a team with a better than .500 record; the Pistons are now 14-12. The other three victories came against teams a combined 26-46. The loss on the trip came at Chicago, which is second in the East with a 14-8 record.

J.J. Redick talks about 3-pointer that helped Clippers get OT win

J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Were it not for J.J. Redick, the Clippers likely would not have gotten the opportunity to go into overtime and win 105-103 at Detroit on Monday night.

Redick buried a 3-point basket with 19 seconds to play in regulation to tie the game 94-94. The Clippers (15-10) then outscored the Pistons 11-9 in the overtime period.

“It was a play for me to get a 3, or Blake (Griffin) to get a layup,” Redick said afterward. “As (Pistons center Andre) Drummond came over, I saw Blake look to the corner, and I wasn’t there yet. So he kind of trusted that I would get there and I got there in time. When I first caught the ball I wasn’t behind the 3-point line, so I had to make a little side-step dribble.’

Redick scored 24 points in support of Griffin’s 34.

 

Doc Rivers on Stanley Johnson: ‘He’s going to be a hell of a player’

Stanley Johnson

Stanley Johnson/Photo courtesy of Detroit Pistons

 

Stanley Johnson was a tremendous player during his prep days at Mater Dei High. He then made a name for himself during his one-year stint at University of Arizona, where he made first-team All-Pac 12.

Now, at the tender age of 19, Johnson is trying to make a name for himself in the NBA. Here in his first season with the Detroit Pistons, Johnson is averaging 7.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 20.2 minutes per game off the bench.

Johnson, who is 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, always looked like a man among boys during his high-school days. Clippers coach Doc Rivers also noticed how big Johnson is when the Pistons were in town Saturday to play the Clippers, who beat them 101-96 at Staples Center.

“When you stand next to him, he’s a big guy; he’s huge,” Rivers said. “He’s going to be a hell of a player.”

Johnson had nine points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal against the Clippers in 21 minutes.

VIDEO: Check out sweet dribbling by Blake Griffin against Pistons

Blake Griffin has become a multi-dimensional player. It’s always amazing to see a 6-foot-10 power forward handle the ball the way he does. Here is a good example. On this play Griffin appeared to be in danger of losing the ball as he got trapped by a couple of Detroit Pistons in the Clippers’ 101-96 victory over them Saturday at Staples Center.

Watch what Griffin does: