As the official ambassador for this game, let me first welcome the Clippers to our fine state. Please, enjoy the Palace.

LA and Detroit kept it close for four quarters, exactly $narf’s dream as his two favorite teams battled each other. Ultimately, the bench scoring of the Clippers proved too much down the stretch.

The Clippers led 9-2, then the Pistons led 16-10. Both teams had excellent size in the post and shot the three too much. Detroit led 27-25 after one quarter.

The Pistons catapulted to a ten point lead in the second quarter. Spencer Dinwiddie made his impact felt, filling in for Brandon Jennings as back-up point guard. Crawford entered and quickly calmed the lead down to two. Andre Drummond stayed active and helped his team lead 51-48 at halftime.

Chris Paul took over the 3rd with 14 points. It was another close, low-scoring quarter that ended with Detroit still leading 73-72.

D.J. Augustin did a better job starting for Jennings this game. He is very athletic and fast, which can also hurt him. He rushed too many 3’s, but otherwise stepped in nicely. Crawford and the Clippers tried to pull away in the final frame, going up 93-82 with just three minutes to go. Then, Dinwiddie drained a three. Down eight. Pistons steal – Drummond fouled for two free throws. He made the first, then Detroit grabbed the offensive rebound and found Augustin for the three! Four point play. After a Clippers miss, Josh Smith made a layup for a two point game, all in one minute. New game with two minutes to play.

Blake Griffin came out with his first dunk of the game on the ensuing sequence. After a Detroit miss, Paul put the team back up seven with a three. Finally, Crawford blocked a Pistons three-pointer then drained one of his own for too big of a lead. The final score after some aggressive last-minute defense was 102-96. It was a truly great game. Thank you, Pistons & Clippers.