Trying to reset his defense after seeing Marcus Morris make his fifth three-pointer Sunday, Detroit coach Dwane Casey called for a timeout midway through the third quarter inside Staples Center.
The shot was the Clippers’ fourth consecutive make, their sixth in their previous seven attempts and pushed their shooting against the Pistons to a blistering 70% — the kind of scoring avalanche from this season’s highest-efficiency offense that has buried many an opponent.
Many, but not all. Because when Casey took the timeout, his team still led by seven. By the third quarter’s end, the Clippers were still shooting 69% — and the Pistons nonetheless led by five, their advantage seemingly impervious to one of the Clippers’ best offensive performances in a season full of worthy candidates.