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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Five of the Los Angeles Clippers' 10
victories have been decided by fewer than six points. Eight of the
Vancouver Grizzlies' 19 losses have been decided by fewer than five
points.
Saturday night's 92-90 victory by the Clippers was another
stepping stone on their climb to respectability and another
heartbreaking step backward for the Grizzlies.
Sean Rooks' tip-in with 1.7 seconds was the difference this time
as the Clippers won for the fifth time in nine games despite
blowing a 16-point lead.
"When you're up by 16, you shouldn't have to win on a
last-second shot," Clippers forward Lamar Odom said. "We've just
got to learn how to put teams away. I mean, it's better to win, but
this game never should have been that close."
The Clippers led by three when Mike Bibby missed a 3-point shot,
hustled after the rebound and sank one from behind the arc to tie
the score at 90 with 11.9 seconds to go.
But Rooks, who finished with six points, got the winning basket
after Dooling drove around Abdur-Rahim and misfired on a short
running jumper.
"I knew Keyon was going to go up with it and that his shot is
really hard to block. So I knew that if I was there, just try to
get a good tip," the 6-foot-10 Rooks said."When I tipped it, I
knew I had a good angle on it. I just wanted to make sure I tipped
it hard enough. And it worked out. Luck was on our side tonight."
Odom had 14 points and a career-high nine blocked shots, and
rookie Keyon Dooling scored six of his nine points in the final
3:51 for the Clippers.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 26 points for the Grizzlies, who have
lost 18 of 22 and four straight on the road. They have lost each of
their last two games by two-point margins.
After trailing by four entering the fourth quarter, Los Angeles
tied it twice before Dooling and Odom hit 3-pointers 38 seconds
apart to put the Clippers back in front 86-81 with 2:45 to play.
Moments after Rooks' pivotal tip-in, Abdur-Rahim failed to get
off a 3-point shot in time with Odom defending him closely at the
left sideline. Odom was credited with his ninth block on the play.
"That was a hard one for us to lose, especially because we
fought back from so much down," Bibby said. "That was a game we
should have won after coming back and being up by five."
The Grizzlies played the entire third quarter without committing
a turnover or a foul, and took their first lead of the game when
Abdur-Rahim hit a 19-footer for a 62-61 edge with 1:42 left in the
period.
Vancouver's Bryant Reeves, who missed his first five shots, made
his first field goal on a 16-footer with 2.8 seconds left in the
third to cap an 18-6 run and increase the margin to 69-65.
"They're fighting for wins, just like us, so we knew they
weren't going to give up," Rooks said. "Our starters did a great
job of getting on top of them and we had a nice flow going. Then
they came back and chipped away, and it became a dogfight."
Brian Skinner made his first five shots to help the Clippers
build a 32-16 lead through one quarter. All of his baskets were
either dunks or layups, but Skinner was 0-for-7 the rest of the
way.
Vancouver made just four of its first 11 shots after missing 12
of its final 13 from the field in Friday night's two-point home
loss to Sacramento.
But the Grizzlies narrowed the gap to 42-36 with 2:51 left in
the first half as Michael Dickerson hit a 19-footer and a 16-footer
at both ends of a 13-6 run. He finished with 19 points.
Game notes
Vancouver F Grant Long sat out his third straight game
because of a broken right thumb. But he isn't expected to be placed
on the injured list, according to a team spokesperson. ... The
second and third overall picks in the June draft, Stromile Swift of
the Grizzlies and Darius Miles of the Clippers, were non-factors in
the game. Each player had two points in 12 minutes. ... Of Miles'
78 field goals, 35 have come on dunks. ... This is the first time
the Clippers have reached double digits in victories before New
Year's Day since 1996. ... The only other time the Clippers won
consecutive games this season was Nov. 15-16, against the Knicks
and Grizzlies. ... The Clippers' next seven games are all against
teams with winning records. The opponents have a combined won-loss
record of 101-65.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 91
Indiana 87
Charlotte 88
San Antonio 84
Detroit 106
Chicago 93
Miami 86
New Jersey 80
Orlando 111
Cleveland 92
Utah 98
Minnesota 92
Golden State 95
Houston 87
Milwaukee 104
Boston 99
Phoenix 102
Denver 93
Portland 87
Washington 70
LA Clippers 92
Vancouver 90
Sacramento 97
Seattle 92
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Mike Bibby Official Site
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