Williams’ bench strength lifts Clippers over Pistons

Lou Williams came off the bench to score 39 points and dish out nine assists as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 25-point deficit to stun the host Detroit Pistons 111-101 on Saturday. Williams scored 26 points in the second half, when the Clippers outscored the Pistons 64-36. Montrezl Harrell had 16 points and seven rebounds, Mike Scott supplied 15 points and rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Boban Marjanovic added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 29 points and seven assists. Blake Griffin had 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and Reggie Bullock added 19 points. Andre Drummond contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. Detroit had four players in double figures by halftime and led 65-47 at the break. Griffin led the way with 17 points and Jackson had 14.

The Pistons drained eight 3-pointers in the opening quarter and raced to a 40-22 lead. That tied Detroit's highest-scoring first quarter of the season. Detroit pushed the lead to 25 in the second quarter before the Clippers began chipping away.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers started Williams and Marjanovic in the second half in an effort to ignite his team. Rivers was whistled for a technical three minutes into the half and Jackson made the free throw, giving Detroit a 71-51 lead.

Jackson drilled a 3 after a Griffin steal to make it 83-60. The Clippers scored the next seven points and that eventually turned into a 16-4 spurt. That cut Detroit's lead to 87-76 entering the fourth. The Clippers kept the pressure up by scoring the first seven points of the fourth, including three points and an assist from Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Clippers tied it when Scott made a 3 from the top of the key with 8:24 remaining. Williams converted a layup with 6:18 remaining to give the Clippers a 93-91 advantage. Williams doubled the lead with two free throws. He soon made a 3 and a layup for a 100-94 Clippers lead.

Williams put the game away with a 3-pointer. --Field Level Media

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