The Los Angeles Clippers showed their toughness on Saturday night, rallying from 19 points down to beat the Detroit Pistons 98-92 at Little Caesars Arena and that comeback had everything to do with their stars stepping up when it mattered most. 

Coming off a win against Brooklyn just 24 hours earlier, the Clippers (15-23) found themselves in a deep hole but finished the game on a 28-8 run to steal a road victory against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons (28-10).

Kawhi Leonard led the way with 26 points and continued his amazing stretch of play that's seen him become one of the league's most dangerous scorers, but the real story was John Collins, who put up 25 points and has been on fire lately for LA. 

Collins has been great over his last five games, averaging 16.4 points while shooting an incredible 72.1 percent from the field and 61.1 percent from three-point range during that stretch, and his hot hand couldn't have come at a better time for a Clippers team trying to climb back into playoff position.

Collins Finding His Groove at Perfect Time

The veteran forward's recent success has been a huge boost for the Clippers, who brought him in this summer to add size and athleticism to their frontcourt but had to wait for him to find his rhythm in their system. 

After struggling earlier in the season, Collins has looked more and more like the player who averaged 19 points per game last season, and his ability to finish around the rim and knock down threes has given LA another weapon alongside Leonard and James Harden.

With injuries affecting the Clippers' depth all season, Collins has stepped into a bigger role and delivered when called upon, and Saturday's 25-point performance was his best game yet in a Clippers uniform.

Grinding Out a Win on Tired Legs

Playing the second game of a back-to-back is never easy, and the Clippers looked tired early as Detroit jumped out to big leads and built a 19-point advantage in the first half. 

Ron Holland's windmill dunk put the Pistons up 84-70 early in the fourth quarter, but LA refused to quit and locked in defensively to start their comeback, and James Harden sparked the rally with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while making winning plays down the stretch.

The Clippers' defense turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter and forced 12 Detroit turnovers in the final period alone, which was the difference in the game. 

Harden's three-point play tied the game at 90 with less than three minutes left, and Collins gave LA the lead for good with a bucket that made it 93-92 with two minutes to go, then the Clippers closed it out from there.

Overcoming a Shorthanded Pistons Team

Detroit was missing several key players including star guard Cade Cunningham (wrist), Isaiah Stewart (illness), Tobias Harris (hip) and Jalen Duren (ankle), which meant they were without their top three scorers and most of their defensive presence. 

Duncan Robinson led the Pistons with 20 points but took only one shot in the second half, and Detroit couldn't handle LA's late-game pressure as they committed 25 turnovers for the game.

The win was LA's ninth in their last 11 games and showed the kind of fight this team has developed during their recent hot streak, proving they can win even when they're not at their best. 

For a team that started the season 6-21 and seemed headed nowhere, the Clippers have turned things around by playing together and trusting each other, and nights like Saturday show they might have something special brewing.

With Collins finding his groove and Leonard playing at an MVP level (averaging 28.0 points per game this season), the Clippers are starting to look like a team that could make some noise if they can get healthy and keep this momentum going into the second half of the season.