CLIPPERS CLUTCH ON TO A VICTORY CASSELL, THOMAS LIFT L.A. TO WIN CLIPPERS 96, DENVER 95.Byline: JOE STEVENS Staff Writer So this is why the Clippers signed Tim Thomas Tim Thomas may refer to:
In a high-drama home opener, Thomas' and Sam Cassell's clutch shooting bailed the Clippers out of an otherwise ugly performance in a 96-95 victory over the Denver Nuggets Nuggets can refer to several branches of interest:
* Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. . Thomas made three 3-pointers in the final three minutes "Three Minutes" is the 46th episode of Lost. It is the twenty-second episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It first aired on May 17, 2006 on ABC. , and Cassell made two free throws with 12 seconds left to key the victory. ``I was thinking all night, `Steal this Steal This is an EP by The Explosion. It was released in 2000 on Revelation Records. Its title is a sarcastic jab at the legal troubles resulting in the EP's recording. game, steal this game,''' Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy Mike Dunleavy is the name of two notable persons in basketball, father and son:
And that's what they did. Down 10 points with 7:35 to play, the Clippers looked poised to lose, but they hung around because of their clutch shooting and took their first lead of the fourth quarter with 1:07 left when Quinton Ross Quinton Lenord Ross (born April 30 1981 in Dallas Texas) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays small forward for the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA. Ross led Dallas' Justin F. made a jump shot to put the Clippers up 91-90. Thomas' key 3-pointers with 2:37 left, 2:04 left and 36.9seconds left mimicked his shooting performances in last season's playoffs, when he helped the Phoenix Suns eliminate both the Clippers and the Lakers. ``Tim and myself, we both missed a lot of training camp, and we've been trying to get our legs back,'' said Cassell, who finished with 35 points, six assists and six rebounds. ``With Tim, we got a guy who understands how to take big shots and how to make big shots.'' Cassell has a similar mantra about himself, and his free throws put the Clippers on top for good. Moments before, he had an ugly turnover in which he stumbled and gave the ball directly to J.R. Smith, who converted an uncontested dunk. He made up for that miscue mis·cue n. 1. Games A stroke in billiards that misses or just brushes the ball because of a slip of the cue. 2. A mistake. intr.v. mis·cued, mis·cu·ing, mis·cues 1. with the free throws. ``Free throws are the easiest shot in the world to make,'' Cassell said. ``No one can block my shot or defend it, so that was easy.'' Before all of the last-minute drama, Denver star Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kiyan Anthony (born May 29,1984) is an American professional basketball player at the small forward position for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association and the USA National Team. again got frustrated and was ejected with 8:22 left in the third quarter. Anthony had just picked up a fourth personal foul, and as he walked to the bench he took off his headband and threw it to the sideline. Apparently, in the NBA's crackdown on on-court misbehavior by calling technical fouls, that warranted his second technical of the night and, thus, an automatic ejection. Ross' defense appeared to frustrate Anthony, who was also was ejected in a regular-season game against the Clippers last season April 4, when he punched a ball more than 20 rows into the crowd. With the various mistakes, the Clippers still have a lot to figure out about themselves. Similar to stretches of their opener, they had stretches against the Nuggets in which they had a hard time getting the ball to Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979 in Peekskill, New York) is an American All-Star professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers and the USA National Team. . Brand finished with just eight points and six rebounds in 40 minutes. ``You got a team with quickness like that, they could take any kind of post player out of the game,'' Brand said. ``I'm about winning, so I don't mind at all.'' Where Shaun Livingston will be 80 games from now is something else the Clippers would like to know. They are hoping he has a breakthrough season, but he was erratic Thursday. He made a few flashy, highlight-reel type of plays, but also had four turnovers in the first quarter alone and didn't score in only 15 minutes. Dunleavy considers this season a ``work in progress,'' in which his team needs to return to being the defending menace it was last season. That work-of-progress theory was apparent as soon as the first quarter, when the Clippers used 11 of their 12 available players. Foul trouble for Cassell and Livingston contributed to that unusual substitution pattern, but it also showed that a lot of the Clippers' individuals are playing inconsistently. ``We're not where we need to be,'' Dunleavy said. ``We're behind, based on some of our guys who had injuries in training camp. Lots of teams go through it. It happens at different times throughout the season. We're trying to have our guys get their legs back and play through it.'' joe.stevens@presstelegram.com (562) 499-1286 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) The Clippers' Paul Davis, left, and Daniel Ewing steal the ball from Denver's Nene Nene (nēn, nĕn) or Nen (nĕn), river, c.90 mi (140 km) long, rising in the Northampton Uplands, central England, and flowing NE past Northampton, Oundle, Peterborough, and Wisbech to the Wash. in Thursday's game at Staples Center. (2) The Clippers' Corey Maggette, left, fouls Denver's Linas Kleiza late in the first half of Thursday's game. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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