|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Alvin Gentry was so disgusted at his team's
effort during Sunday's practice, he stopped the proceedings early
and kicked them all out of the gym.
|  | | The Nuggets' Robert Pack, left, pulls the reins on the Clippers' Jeff McInnis. |
Monday night, the coach of the Clippers got the desired result
as his players turned their intensity up in the fourth quarter.
Lamar Odom scored 27 points and rookie Darius Miles powered a
20-2 run that carried the Clippers to a 99-86 victory over the
Denver Nuggets.
"We focused harder on defense and made some key plays," Odom
said. "That's how we got the fast breaks and the alley-oops, and
got the crowd involved. We played smart tonight and we got some
offensive rebounds. Everyone played well, and we were able to
finish the game in high gear."
Odom, playing despite a bruised hip, shot 7-for-8 from the field
in the first half and finished 12-for-16 overall while grabbing
seven rebounds. Corey Maggette and Jeff McInnis each added 14 for
the Clippers, who have won six of their last nine games.
"Our goal is to try to get better every day we step out
there," Gentry said. "If we can do that, we have something to
build on for next year, and then we're headed in the right
direction."
With leading scorer and rebounder Antonio McDyess sitting out
because of a partially dislocated left kneecap, the Nuggets lost
their third on a row, 14th in the last 18, and eighth straight on
the road. Mark Strickland was Denver's top scorer with 16 points.
The Nuggets' recent free fall has dropped them from seventh place
in the Western Conference standings to 11th -- two games under .500
and seven games out of a playoff spot. All eight teams currently
holding down a postseason berth in the West are playing at least
.600 ball.
"Anytime you lose a player who puts up 20 points a night, it
hurts," Denver coach Dan Issel said. "We didn't have enough of
our guys step up."
After a third quarter in which the teams combined for only 33
points, the Clippers opened the fourth with a 10-4 spurt that
trimmed Denver's lead to 78-77.
Miles, the third overall pick in the June draft, then set up an
alley-oop dunk by Maggette and hit a layup 23 seconds later after a
missed 20-footer at the other end by Ryan Bowen, giving the
Clippers an 83-82 lead.
Then it was "Showtime" at Staples Center -- Clippers style.
Rookie Keyon Dooling stripped Nick Van Exel of the ball and fed
Miles for a slam dunk. Odom hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key
and Maggette went the length of the court for a breakaway dunk
after another of Van Exel's six turnovers.
"We had some crucial turnovers late in the game that led to
some easy baskets," Van Exel said. "We just didn't do a good job
protecting the ball, and that makes it tough to win games. I take
the blame for tonight, because Coach called my number and I didn't
respond."
The Clippers put it away by sinking nine of 10 free throws in
the final two minutes, six by Dooling.
Game notes
Of the Clippers' last seven coaches, the only one who had a
better record through his first 63 games than Gentry (22-41) was
Larry Brown (39-24). Mike Schuler also started out 22-41. ... The
Nuggets have won only five of their last 59 road games against
Pacific Division teams since Jan. 14, 1997. Three of the victories
have come against the Clippers. ... The Clippers, who are 14-17 at
Staples Center, need to win seven of their 10 remaining home games
to have a winning home record for only the second time in eight
years and the sixth time in their 17 seasons in Los Angeles. But
three of those games are against division leaders _ Utah,
Philadelphia and Milwaukee. ... McDyess has missed only three games
since the start of the 1997-98 season. The only other game he
missed this season was Nov. 4, because of back spasms. ... The
Clippers, who shot .565 from the field, are 10-0 when they are at
least 50 percent.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Utah 109
Atlanta 102
Miami 87
Detroit 84
Milwaukee 107
New Jersey 100
Orlando 95
Dallas 81
San Antonio 91
Vancouver 77
LA Clippers 99
Denver 86
|
