Clippers Play Their Hand, Don’t Fold

Tony Delk swished a three-point basket mere seconds into the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon at Staples Center. Then he made another. And another. Suddenly, the Phoenix Suns were within striking distance of the Clippers.

Building leads hasn’t been a problem for the Clippers so far this season. Holding them has, however. Would this be the next in a series of fourth-quarter collapses for the Clippers?

Just when it seemed the Clippers might fold down the stretch Saturday, Jeff McInnis sank a runner from the key and Quentin Richardson leaped and kissed a shot off the backboard for another critical basket.

With order--and momentum--restored, the Clippers promptly charged away from the Suns, taking a 111-102 victory in front of 17,111 relieved fans. There would be no repeat of Thursday’s 119-101 loss to the Trail Blazers at Portland, when they were outscored, 37-17, in the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Suns’ fourth-quarter run was little more than a hiccup for the Clippers, who shot 72.2% in building a 62-51 lead by halftime. Their lead would grow to 16 points after Elton Brand’s jump shot and Corey Maggette’s three-pointer in the opening minutes of the third quarter.

Delk’s three-pointers to start the fourth helped rally the Suns within 94-87, but the Clippers got stronger instead of crumbling as they did against Portland.

“We played well and we played hard,” Brand said. “I’m very, very, very, very happy with the way we conducted ourselves in the fourth quarter.”

In fact, after watching Phoenix’s Penny Hardaway break loose for 29 points in the first three quarters, the Clippers sorted out their game on both ends of the court. The Clippers continued their torrid shooting, making six of 13 shots in the fourth quarter, and muzzled Hardaway, who had only two points on one of five shooting in the final quarter.

“We didn’t want to see that again,” McInnis said, referring to the fourth quarter of the Portland game. “We felt like we had this game under control.”

Perhaps so, but with Hardaway and Delk making shots from all over the court, the Suns never seemed far from the Clippers.

The trouble for Phoenix was that it had no answer for the likes of Brand, Maggette and center Michael Olowokandi. Those three each reached double figures in points by halftime.

Brand led the Clippers with 25 points and 11 rebounds by game’s end. Maggette, starting for the suspended Lamar Odom, had 16 points. Olowokandi had 11 points--all in the first half.

McInnis and Richardson had 17 points apiece and Erik Piatkowski added 12, giving the Clippers six players in double figures.

“We did a great job today of moving the ball and getting open shots,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “I liked this game because it was a total team effort. I thought everybody did something good for us when they needed to....

“I think we played our best basketball this season from start to finish. We’ve had stretches in games where we’ve played better, but for 48 minutes this was the best we’ve played.”

Although other players’ fortunes have risen and fallen this season, the Clippers continue to count on sustained excellence from Brand. After seven games, he leads the team with averages of 22.3 points and 9.9 rebounds.

After he was acquired in a June trade from the Chicago Bulls, there was plenty of speculation that he could not duplicate his 20-point and 10-rebound averages with the Clippers. After all, the Western Conference is considered much more competitive than the East and the Clippers have more weapons than the Horri-Bulls.

“Elton Brand is the difference on our team right now,” McInnis said, referring to Odom’s absence because of a drug suspension. “Elton has unbelievable hands. He catches everything I throw him. And he comes up with the big rebounds every time.”

Now, if only that sort of consistency could spread to the rest of the Clippers. They are 3-4 overall but winless in three road games. Against the Suns on Saturday, unlike Thursday at Portland, the Clippers’ confidence swelled at key moments.

“We’ve got to keep rolling,” McInnis said. “We’ve got to keep winning. We’ve got to show people in this town we can win. We’ve got to keep protecting our home court.”