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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Clippers had to sweat out
five inbounds plays by Atlanta in front of their own bench in the
final 22.5 seconds to end their 13-game losing streak.
"It was a little chaotic," interim coach Jim Todd said after
Saturday night's 78-77 victory -- the Clippers' second in 25 games.
"But our players did everything we as a coaching staff wanted them
to do and we clawed and fought for a victory."
Derek Anderson scored 21 points and rookie Lamar Odom sank the
go-ahead free throw in the final minute, capping a 10-point, 12-rebound effort. It was the first time the Clippers tasted victory since beating New Jersey 98-93 on Jan. 29 at Staples Center.
Since then, they have replaced head coach Chris Ford with Todd
and added assistant coaches Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dennis Johnson
-- two former NBA greats who know a thing or two about what it takes
to handle crunch time.
"Kareem's been very instrumental to myself, Michael
(Olowokandi) and Lamar, and he's helped us with our defensive
spacing," 7-foot-3 center Keith Closs said of Abdul-Jabbar, who waved appreciatively to the Staples Center crowd of 14,375 in his
home debut.
Isaiah Rider and Bimbo Coles each had 16 points and Dikembe
Mutombo added 17 rebounds for the Hawks, who had beaten the
Clippers 10 consecutive times and seven straight in Los Angeles.
"It's pretty discouraging," forward Alan Henderson said. "I'm
sure we'll be hearing about it. There are certain teams you don't
want to lose to, and the Clippers are one of them -- even though we
haven't been playing well this year ourselves."
Coles was surprised to hear that the Clippers were on another
one of their double-digit skids and had barely avoided the seventh
losing streak of 14 or more games in franchise history.
"I did not know they had lost 13 in a row -- that's terrible,"
he said. "I don't pay attention to the Clippers -- not to be
negative or anything, but we're on the East coast. So I don't
really pay much attention to what's going on out here."
Mutombo, who blocked two shots in the final three minutes, rejected a layup by Anderson before Coles lost the dribble in the paint at the other end. Odom then made one of two free throws to give Los Angeles its winning margin.
"We were fortunate to have a chance at the end to get a win,"
Henderson said. "We just kept battling, but we just couldn't get a
shot at the basket. If you can play poorly and still have a chance
to win, that's all you can ask for. We just didn't get it done."
Mutombo rebounded Odom's second free throw, but Closs blocked a shot and knocked a couple of inbounds passes out of bounds near the Hawks' basket. Atlanta inbounded for the last time with four seconds left, but Coles lost the ball out of bounds before the Hawks could attempt a shot.
"It was just helter skelter," Coles said. "First of all we
were in a bad position to try to get the basketball in bounds. In
those situations, you definitely have to get a shot off. But
sometimes you're running around so much, you don't end up getting a
shot off."
Returning from the third 0-7 road trip in franchise history and
first since 1987-88, the Clippers made only two of their first 13
shots in the fourth quarter _ a layup by Odom and a 3-pointer by Eric Piatkowski that extended their lead to 72-64.
The Hawks had cut the margin to three on Ellis' short hook, a
running jumper by Coles and an 18-footer by Ellis in the first two
minutes of the period.
But the Hawks responded with a layup by Ellis, a 15-footer by
Coles and a 3-pointer by Rider that put them within 72-71 with 2:43
to play. After Odom's 3-pointer gave the Clippers a 77-73 edge,
Rider answered with a reverse layup and a 22-footer to tie it at
77.
Tyrone Nesby's dunk with 5:47 left in the third quarter gave the Clippers their biggest lead, 59-43. But the Hawks ended the quarter
with a 13-6 run ignited by Jim Jackson's two layups and capped by his 3-pointer, which narrowed the gap to 65-56.
Game notes
The Clippers beat Atlanta for the first time since March
25, 1994 -- at the Omni, which was imploded in July 1997. But they
still have 11-game losing streaks alive against the Lakers and
Seattle -- in addition to nine-game skids against Phoenix and
Chicago. ... The Clippers put Brian Skinner on the injured list for the second time this season because of a sprained left ankle. They signed forward Pete Chilcutt and guard Jeff McInnis to 10-day contracts. ... The Clippers are 1-11 since Todd replaced Ford. The 11-game winless drought was the longest by a new coach in club
history, and three more than Don Casey -- who had only one victory
in his first 22 games after Gene Shue was fired 38 games into the
1988-89 campaign.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 104
Golden State 88
Miami 98
Washington 88
New Jersey 104
Charlotte 93
Dallas 98
Denver 96
Vancouver 102
Sacramento 90
LA Clippers 78
Atlanta 77
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