CLIPPERS BACK IN THE RACE L.A. NEARS WEST'S 8TH SPOT WITH WIN CLIPPERS 115, MILW. 96.

Byline: JOE STEVENS Staff Writer

Mike Dunleavy and the Clippers aspire for a championship - or at least to go far into the playoffs.

But after a troublesome start, their immediate goal is simply to be one of the top eight teams in the Western Conference and secure a playoff spot.

That goal became as close as it has been in more than a month after the Clippers blew out the Milwaukee Bucks 115-96 Tuesday night at Staples Center.

The Clippers won their third consecutive game and moved just a half-game behind Minnesota for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

``We want to get there ASAP,'' Dunleavy said about that eighth spot. ``No question about it. It's never do-or-die, until mathematics and elimination come in, but certainly, you want to do it as soon as possible. It's important.''

The Clippers got a huge game - and a big first half - from forward Elton Brand. He had 23 of his 25 points in the firsthalf was 10 of 15 from the floor with seven rebounds and five assists.

After two consecutive productive games, Sam Cassell was just average against the Bucks, with eight points and eight assists. He didn't have a point or assist in the second half, and missed all four of his shot attempts in the final two quarters. But the Clippers had the luxury of sitting him for the entire fourth quarter, and he played only 23 minutes.

Cuttino Mobley took up the slack, finishing with 22 points while making 10 of 15 shots from the floor.

During their modest win streak, the Clippers have had difficulty maintaining big leads. But that was not the case Tuesday night.

The Clippers led by 24 points in the second half, and the closest Milwaukee got at any point in the second half was 11 points.

The closest the Bucks got in the fourth quarter was 89-74, and that was to start the quarter.

Another curious aspect of the win streak is Dunleavy's reluctance to pull his starters and key players until very late. That finally ended Tuesday, when he went to his reserves with a little less than five minutes to play.

Milwaukee, which lost its fourth straight and is fighting injuries, hardly had a chance. Early on, it looked like the Bucks' only hope was to get a career performance out of Charlie Bell, who went 8 of 12 from the field in the first half while scoring 18 points.

In the second half, Bell wasn't nearly as effective, scoring just six points to finish with 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting.

For a second straight game, Brand established himself in a big way in the first half. He finished with a season-high 34points in the Clippers' 112-91 victory over Memphis on Saturday. In that game, he scored 24 points in the first half.

Against Milwaukee, Brand went 9 of 11 from the field.

Part of that came because of Cassell's concerted effort to get him the ball.

The Clippers led 69-58 at halftime after leading by as many as 18 points in the second quarter. They shot 59.5 percent and would have pulled away, if it weren't for the backcourt of the Bucks.

Milwaukee was in a hole from the beginning, as they were missing their top two scorers, Michael Redd and Maurice Williams, both of whom were injured. Former Clipper Bobby Simmons and Charlie Villanueva also were out.

Without those players, the Bucks are extremely young. They have four rookies and three players who are in their second NBA seasons on their roster.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Clippers' Elton Brand dunks over Milwaukee's Ersan Ilyasova on Tuesday.

(2) Milwaukee's Earl Boykins, who is 5-5, tries to drive past the Clippers' 7-footer Chris Kaman on Tuesday at Staples Center.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer