|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Clippers coach Alvin Gentry could empathize
with first-year Washington coach Leonard Hamilton.
Lamar Odom and Keyon Dooling combined for 26 fourth-quarter points as the Clippers rallied from a 21-point deficit and beat the Wizards 93-88 on Wednesday night.
"I know how they feel," Gentry said after the Clippers snapped a three-game losing streak. "We felt like this after the Toronto game (a recent 104-95 overtime loss in which the Clippers led all but 1.2 seconds of regulation), so I can relate to constantly
coming up short."
The Wizards, who led by 21 in the third quarter, succumbed to
the Clippers' 28-10 at the start of the fourth period. Odom capped
the run with a 3-pointer as the Clippers grabbed an 84-82 lead with
3:17 remaining. During the stretch, Odom hit another 3-pointer and
added a three-point play.
Dooling, a rookie, scored all 12 of his points in the fourth
quarter, and added five assists.
Odom finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Felipe Lopez led the Wizards, losers of five straight, with 15
points. Rod Strickland and Richard Hamilton each had 14.
The Wizards took an 18-8 lead on Srickland's jumper with 3:21
remaining in the first quarter. The Clippers' 11 first-quarter
points were their fewest in a quarter since Nov. 16, when they
managed just 12 in a period at Vancouver.
Strickland stretched the Wizards' lead to 40-21 on a fastbreak
layup with 5 minutes remaining in the half.
"We blew it," Strickand said of his team's collapse. "We just didn't get it done. We blew it, plain and simple."
The Clippers closed to 80-72 on a breakaway slam by Dooling with
6:23 remaining. Dooling hit a 3-pointer with 4:47 left, pulling Los
Angeles within 82-76.
"We were down, so I couldn't just walk the ball down the
court," Dooling said. "So I ran the ball down the court and tried
to set the offense up. It just so happened that I had some
opportunities and took advantage of them."
Odom sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a slam by Dooling to
give the Clippers an 84-82 lead with 3:18 left.
"There's no player in the league at the age of 21 with as much responsibility as Lamar," Gentry said. "We ask a lot of him far a franchise that is trying to rebuild and turn the corner. He's still a kid, and sometimes we tend to lose sight of that.
"He's maturing very fast."
Felipe Lopez put the Wizards ahead 88-87 on a reverse layup with
1:21 left, but Odom answered with a layup. After Strickland missed
a 3-point attempt with 40 seconds left, Odom hit another 3-pointer
with 17 ticks remaining for a 92-88 lead.
"Even though we were playing well enough to be ahead, I never
thought we were playing with killer instinct," Wizards coach
Leonard Hamilton said. "I'll take the blame for it. I don't have
the luxury of going that deep on the bench."
The game featured all three players involved in a Nov. 28 trade
between the teams. Former Clippers forward Tyrone Nesby got his
first start in his third game with the Wizards. He finished with
eight points, six rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes. Nesby
averaged 7.7 points in starting 12 of 14 games for Los Angeles.
Cherokee Parks, dealt from Washington to Los Angeles, had two
points and one rebound in six minutes for the Clippers. Forward
Obinna Ekezie, waived by the Clippers and reacquired Dec. 1 by
Washington, had two points and a rebound in six minutes.
Game notes
Michael Jordan, the Wizards' president of basketball
operations, attended his third game this season at MCI Center,
where the Wizards are 3-7. . . The Clippers are 1-3 on a six-game
road trip that continues Friday in Charlotte and concludes Saturday
at Minneapolis. . . The O'Jay's and Gerald Levert will play a free
New Year's Eve concert at MCI Center following the Wizards' 8 p.m.
game against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 31.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Clippers Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
LA Clippers 93
Washington 88
Charlotte 91
Indiana 88
Miami 95
Denver 78
Milwaukee 109
New Jersey 87
Cleveland 92
Chicago 88
Dallas 94
New York 85
Portland 95
Toronto 88
Detroit 112
Seattle 99
Golden State 125
LA Lakers 122
|
