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AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—Already it qualified as a herculean task — conclude an exhausting seven-game trip with a victory, in the second game of a back-to-back, against a team with the Eastern Conference’s best record.
Then, the Los Angeles Clippers discovered their best player would be unavailable and miss his first game of the season.
So much for a possible nice ending to a 12-day trip.
With forward Elton Brand in the locker room because of back spasms, the Los Angeles Clippers made pests of themselves for a half, before being swatted aside by the Detroit Pistons, who extended their winning streak to six in a row, with a 92-74 victory.
All five Detroit Pistons starters scored in double figures, led by the newest Piston, Chris Webber. He scored 19 points and had nine rebounds.
“We had the same game plan coming in, with or without Elton Brand,’’ Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. “Of course it hurt them. It was a big blow to them.’’
Thus ended the Los Angeles Clippers’ trip at 2-5, each loss consisting of a double-digit lashing. They have lost five of the past six games. The Los Angeles Clippers return home, two games under .500, and dangerously close to falling out of the playoff race, if their current spiral continues.
“We don’t have any choice but to regroup,’’ said guard Cuttino Mobley, who scored 17 points, and kept the Los Angeles Clippers in the game early with his three-point shooting. “We’re borderline right now and we have to realize that. No one’s going to give us that seventh or eighth playoff spot. We have to go take it.’’
The Los Angeles Clippers had to get a pair of free throws from rookie center Paul Davis, with 24.7 seconds remaining, just to tie their season-low point output for a game. The Los Angeles Clippers shot 32.4 percent from the field, their poorest shooting performance this season, aside from the 31 percent they shot in their loss Nov. 28 at Sacramento.
“The first half we played decently and hung around,’’ Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. “The second half we just couldn’t make shots.’’
Elton Brand’s presence would have helped immensely. However, the back pain he first encountered in the second game of this trip in Toronto, finally forced him out of the lineup.
“It was real tough missing this game, especially in the first half, when we were still in the game,’’ Elton Brand said. “I tried to fight through it and play, after the Toronto game, but today it just snowballed. I tried to warm up before the game but I was having trouble even running.’’
Center Chris Kaman tried to take up the low-post scoring and rebounding slack and at halftime he had 10 points and nine rebounds. But Chris Kaman got into second-half foul trouble. He eventually fouled out, and in the second half he had zero rebounds and three points.
“I thought Chris Kaman was good, when he was able to stay in there,’’ Dunleavy said.
The results of this seven-game trip was far less successful than the Los Angeles Clippers had hoped. But it was a reflection of what has transpired this season. Lofty goals set in training camp — a 50-win season, 30-plus home victories — have long since been dealt a dose of reality.
“It’s a little disappointing but we can’t go back now, we have to keep marching forward,’’ guard Shaun Livingston said.
But those goals were based on the belief that this year’s team would be better, with all the key players back from last season’s team that reached the Western Conference playoff semifinals, plus the offseason acquisition of forward Tim Thomas.
“On paper, we look awesome,’’ Chris Kaman said. “But you don’t play games on paper, you play them on the court and on the court we don’t look awesome.’’
THOMAS STILL AILING
Thomas still has pain and swelling in his right knee which was hyperextended six days ago in the Los Angeles Clippers’ loss at Cleveland. He was 3 of 13 from the field Monday and finished with nine points, all on three- pointers.
“It didn’t help that as soon as I got in (Sunday’s game against Indiana) I got undercut and went knee-to-knee with (Maceo) Baston, going after a loose ball,’’ Thomas said.
NO ONE’S PERFECT
With Elton Brand on the inactive list, the Los Angeles Clippers have no one that has played in all 52 games.
Swingman Quinton Ross had played in the first 50 games but was held out of Sunday’s game after flying back and forth, between Indianapolis and Dallas on Saturday to attend to a family matter. Dunleavy said based on that trip being an emotional endeavor for Ross, he decided to hold him out.
NBA Future:
Joakim Noah
Joakim Noah (born February 25, 1985 in New York City) is a 7'0" American basketball player who currently plays for the University of Florida in the Southeastern Conference of the NCAA.
Joakim Noah is of French, Cameroonian, and Swedish descent, born to Yannick Noah, a former French professional tennis player and 1983 French Open Champion, and Cécilia Rodhe, Miss Sweden 1978. He competed on basketball teams for several high schools, first at the United Nations International School in New York City, later transferring to Poly Prep in Brooklyn, New York and then to Lawrenceville, outside of Princeton, New Jersey. At Lawrenceville, Noah averaged 24.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, leading his team to a New Jersey Prep 'A' state title.
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