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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Eddie Robinson had enough problems wondering
how he would play after coming back from an injury. Then he found
out less than two hours before tip-off that he was making his first
start of the season.
The second-year forward, activated earlier Friday after missing
six games with a bruised tailbone, scored a career-high 21 points
starting in place of the injured Jamal Mashburn as the Hornets beat
the Los Angeles Clippers 86-73 Friday night.
"I didn't think I would start," said Robinson, who averaged
9.4 points in his eight starts as a rookie last season. "But once
I found out that Mash wasn't able to go, then I started getting
focused."
Robinson played 38 minutes and was 10-for-15 from the field. He
also grabbed eight rebounds.
"They didn't really defend me that tough," Robinson said. "I
was roaming a lot, and they were really double-teaming our big
guys, so I was able to find the corner shot. I was getting rebounds
and pushing the ball, like I was doing in practice, and just trying
to get the other guys involved. And that left me open a lot."
Coach Paul Silas was particularly happy about the timing of
Robinson's return after finding out that Mashburn would be missing
his first game of the season.
"It's surprising to me that Eddie could come back and do what
he did because he hadn't played much," Silas said. "But once he
gets started, he can score in bunches. And that really helped us
tonight because, missing Mashburn, I didn't know what to expect."
Elden Campbell added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets,
who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Charlotte held the Clippers without a field goal for more than
nine minutes during one stretch en route to their seventh straight
victory over Los Angeles.
Lamar Odom led the Clippers with 23 points despite shooting
1-for-8 in the first half. Darius Miles, the earliest draft pick
ever out of high school, grabbed 11 rebounds and got four of his
eight blocked shots in the first 4:17 of the game.
Mashburn, who sat out the game because of inflammation and
tendinitis in his left knee, is doubtful for Sunday night's game at
Denver.
The Clippers lost for the fifth time in six games.
After trailing by as many as 24 points late in the third
quarter, the Clippers used a 23-8 run to slice Charlotte's lead to
81-73 with 1:20 remaining. Odom scored the last nine points of the
rally, including a 3-pointer at the end. But the Clippers didn't
score again as they matched their lowest-scoring game of the
season.
"Everybody wanted to come back and win this game," Clippers
rookie Quentin Richardson said. "We didn't show any quit. We tried
to catch them at the end, but we just fell short."
Robinson's slam dunk with 3:11 left in the third quarter gave
the Hornets their biggest lead, 59-35. The Clippers closed to 65-50
with 9:50 to play on a slam dunk by Odom and a driving layup by
Jeff McInnis. But David Wesley responded with a 17-footer and a
20-footer for a 69-50 cushion with 8:33 left.
Game
notes
Silas won 78 of his 246 games as Clippers coach during the
team's last three seasons in San Diego. The only Clippers coaches
with more victories are Gene Shue (105) and Bill Fitch (99). ...
P.J. Brown finished with 12 rebounds, tying Larry Johnson's club
record of nine consecutive double-digit games on the boards. ...
Hornets F Tim James was placed on the injured list with tendinitis
in both knees. ... Charlotte scored fewer than 100 points for only
the fourth time in its last 22 meetings with the Clippers. ... Los
Angeles rookie guard Keyon Dooling sat out because of a
gastrointestinal problem, and Corey Maggette was scratched due to
an upper respiratory infection.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 121
Seattle 89
Dallas 115
Toronto 105
Golden State 100
Boston 88
Denver 100
Utah 87
Phoenix 108
Vancouver 76
Portland 119
Milwaukee 115
Charlotte 86
LA Clippers 73
Indiana 93
Sacramento 91
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
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