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GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- Now this is bad, even for the Chicago Bulls.
For the first time in 22 years, the Bulls were swept by the Los Angeles Clippers. Yes, those same Clippers who were the NBA's previous poster boys for ineptitude.
"We've got young talent, they've got young talent," said
Darius Miles, who had 14 points in the Clippers 93-80 victory over the Bulls on Thursday night.
"They've been struggling, can't get over that hump. For a
while, we couldn't get over that hump. We're learning, we just
learned quicker than them."
The victory gave the Clippers their first sweep of the season
series since 1978-79, before many of the Kiddie Clippers were born.
And it wasn't as if the games were close, either, with Los Angeles
winning the first by 20.
"Right now, they enjoy being Clippers," coach Alvin Gentry said. "We've been in some tough stretches, especially now on the road this long. ... We can see we're getting better if we keep up the effort."
Jeff McInnis had 17 points to lead five Clippers in double figures. Lamar Odom and Eric Piatkowski also had 14 points, and Odom had 10 rebounds. Sean Rooks had 12 points.
The Bulls got a career-high 22 points from Fred Hoiberg, but it wasn't nearly enough, especially when they were playing without Ron
Mercer and Ron Artest.
Mercer, Chicago's No. 2 scorer, missed his third game with a sprained ankle, and Artest served his one-game suspension for a fight with Milwaukee's Glenn Robinson on Tuesday night.
"With our second-leading scorer and our third-leading scorer missing, of course it's going to be tough," said Elton Brand, who had 17 points and 16 rebounds.
"I wanted to be positive and play well. I didn't want to just hand them the game."
But that's essentially what the Bulls did in the second half.
Miles dunked and Odom drilled a 3 to extend the Clippers' lead to 69-59 with 10:09 left. Miles tried to get fancy on another dunk, swinging on the rim like a kid on the playground, and the refs gave him a technical.
Hoiberg made the free throw and then hit a 3-pointer, cutting
Los Angeles' lead to 71-65 with 8:54 left.
But Quentin Richardson and Sean Rooks hit jumpers from about 16
feet, Odom followed with another basket the Clippers were up 77-65
with 6:23 left.
"Tonight is not a true indication because we didn't have both Rons and Michael Ruffin out there," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "I'd like to think we'd have played this game a little tougher."
The Bulls made it respectable in the first half. Hoiberg was
fouled on a 3-point shot, and he made all three of the free throws
to give Chicago a 34-26 lead with 5:36 left in the half.
But Odom scored on a layup, and McInnis hit a 3-pointer with
less than a second left to pull the Clippers within 42-41 at
halftime.
Game notes
Brand and Bulls coach Tim Floyd both got techicals with
3:26 left in the third quarter. ... Thursday's game marked the
return of Richardson, the Chicago native who left DePaul after two
years to turn pro. The Blue Demons haven't fared so well since
"Q" left. "I don't think it's so much that they're missing me.
They're just going through some rough times right now. They were
still good enough that they could have done well," Richardson
said. ... And just how much has Richardson's life changed since he
was drafted in June? "I've got a lot more money than I used to
have."
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NBA Scoreboard
LA Clippers Clubhouse
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RECAPS
Sacramento 115
Washington 110
Charlotte 93
Golden State 91
Utah 90
Portland 84
LA Clippers 93
Chicago 80
Dallas 98
Boston 91
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