Los Angeles @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2019 ) Detroit 109, L.A. Clippers 104

It was an emotional scene the last time the Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit Pistons met, with Blake Griffin drawing cheers from his former home fans while leading his current team to victory. Griffin will try to pull off the same trick while leading his new team at home when the Pistons host the Clippers on Saturday.

Griffin, who was drafted first overall by Los Angeles in 2009 and was with the franchise until being shipped to Detroit last season, exploded for 44 points on 13-of-23 shooting in a 109-104 win at the Clippers last month and is averaging 30.6 points over 10 games, beginning with that performance. "I am happy and excited that Blake (Griffin) made the All-Star team, it was well-deserved," Pistons coach Dwane Casey told reporters after it was announced that Griffin was selected as an All-Star reserve on Thursday. "He's been an All-Pro for us and has helped us get every bit of the 22 wins that we have, so congratulations to him." Los Angeles is embarking on a six-game road trip after dropping two in a row at home, including a 123-120 overtime loss to the rival Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Small forward Tobias Harris, who came over in the Griffin deal and was among a handful of All-Star snubs, collected 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the setback.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), FS Detroit

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (28-24): Los Angeles placed seven scorers in double figures in Thursday's loss, with defensive-minded point guard Patrick Beverley joining the charge with 17 points. Beverley, who averages 7.2 points, scored in double figures in each of the last three games and went 5-of-8 from 3-point range against the Lakers but missed out on a third straight double-double while finishing with eight rebounds. Reserve guard Lou Williams went a combined 6-of-33 from the floor in the two previous games but busted out of the slump with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting Thursday.

ABOUT THE PISTONS (22-28): Detroit barely squeezed past a depleted Dallas Mavericks team that traded away three rotation players earlier in the day on Thursday and sat star rookie Luka Doncic, and Griffin is trying to fight his team's complacency in such situations. "I've been in some similar situations before where a team is missing some guys for one reason or another and you come out and you underestimate them and they play hard," Griffin told reporters. "A lot of those guys are getting their chance to play starter minutes. I don't know that it was necessarily what they were doing tonight, I thought it was what we didn't do that put us in that hole." Griffin struggled to 24 points on 8-of-26 shooting in the 93-89 triumph while center Andre Drummond collected 24 points and 20 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pistons SG Reggie Bullock is 9-of-38 from 3-point range over his last five games.

2. Clippers SF Danilo Gallinari (back) will travel with the team but is not expected to play Saturday.

3. The road team took each of the last three in the series.

PREDICTION: Pistons 106, Clippers 104