LOS ANGELES -- Despite playing again without injured guards Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford made up for their absences by boosting the Los Angeles Clippers past the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Griffin had 34 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Crawford scored a season-high 37 points to lead the Clippers to a 101-96 victory over the Pistons at Staples Center.

"For (Crawford) to have a night like he did tonight, that was huge," said Griffin, who scored 23 points in the second half. "He wasn't just hitting the shots, but he was getting everybody else involved. It's just fun to play with a guy like that."

Crawford, who also eight assists and six rebounds, delivered some clutch free throws down the stretch as the Clippers (6-4) ended a two-game slide and defeated Detroit for the ninth consecutive time.

"We just needed to win, we really did," said Crawford, who made 12 of 27 shots from the floor and all 10 of his free throws. "I never really loose confidence about myself. I'm just trying to figure it out. We've got a bunch of talented guys, so I know I pretty much have the same role.

"Sometimes, you have to figure out how everybody is going to fit in and take a step backward and see how we can make it work."

The Clippers made it work without Paul (right groin strain) and Redick (back spasms). Clippers coach Doc Rivers started Crawford and Austin Rivers in the backcourt and replaced struggling forward Lance Stephenson with Paul Pierce. However, they couldn't keep up with the Pistons in the first half.

"I felt like we had control and we just didn't finish it," said Pistons guard Reggie Jackson, who had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Forward Ersan Ilyasova also scored 20 points for the Pistons (5-4), who have dropped three in a row. Center Andre Drummond finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds.

"Their defense was good and we played poorly," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Early in the game, our ball-handling was good, but the switching sort of took us out of it. They were able to run pick-and-rolls, put two guys on Reggie and we never threw the ball to our (center), allowing them to stay spread out. Overall, we just didn't do a good job."

Guard Austin Rivers, who finished with 13 points, nailed a 3-point jumper from the corner to lift the Clippers to a 93-90 lead with 2:34 remaining, and they never trailed again. Ilyasova hit two foul shots to cut the deficit to one, but Griffin countered with hook shot to keep the lead at three with 1:28 left.

After Drummond made two free throws to pull the Pistons within one again, Griffin buried a jumper with 17.9 seconds left to push the advantage to 97-94. That turned out to be the difference.

Jackson made two free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining to slice the lead to one, but Crawford converted two foul shots with 7.3 seconds left. A 3-point shot by Detroit guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drew nothing but air.

Crawford sealed the deal with two more free throws with 3.8 seconds left to cap the scoring.

Detroit led by as much as 17 before taking a 60-51 lead at the break.

"The NBA is a game of runs; it's a long game," Crawford said. "It's easy to be comfortable being up (17). Once you're in a dogfight, every possession means more. We just wanted to get them to that point and go from there."

Three free throws by Ilyasova boosted the Pistons to a 75-64 cushion with 4:34 left in the third quarter. However, the Clippers closed with a 17-5 surge for an 81-80 lead after Crawford's bucket ended the quarter. Crawford had 14 points in the quarter.

"He played great," Van Gundy said of Crawford.

NOTES: Consistency is the biggest challenge for Pistons C Andre Drummond, the NBA's leading rebounder at 19.3 per game, who averaged 18.3 points per game entering Saturday's game, according to Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy. "What he's got to understand is there's a connection between how he plays and how we play," Van Gundy said. "He's huge to what we do." ... Rebounding is a major concern for Clippers coach Doc Rivers. "We're not doing a great job," said Rivers, whose club was outrebounded in eight of its nine previous games. "We have to rebound as a team so much better. ... The Pistons face the Lakers on Sunday at Staples Center, and the Clippers are off until Thursday when they host the Golden State Warriors. ... A moment of silence was held for victims of the Paris attacks.