CLIPPERS SUFFER FIRST HOME LOSS YAO IMPRESSIVE, BUT L.A. GOES COLD HOUSTON 105, CLIPPERS 90.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

The last time the Clippers were home, they had a happy-go-lucky time, completing a four-game winning streak.

This time, the Clippers were on the flip side of that joy and are on a four-game losing streak.

The Clippers shot an ugly 34.1 percent as they lost a fourth consecutive game courtesy of a 105-90 defeat to the Houston Rockets in front of 16,962 Monday at Staples Center.

If the Clippers were going to have a chance to win, they had to make a move at the start of the fourth quarter. Instead, the Rockets started the quarter with two 3-pointers - one from former Clipper Eric Piatkowski and another from Moochie Norris - to lead 79-66 with 11:12 left.

Throughout the rest of the fourth quarter, the closest the Clippers came was nine points, at 79-70, with 10:20 left. The Clippers' faithful has a tendency to stay around until the final buzzer, but there was a piece-meal exodus throughout the fourth quarter.

The Clippers were outmanned. Not only were Elton Brand and Marko Jaric sidelined, Quentin Richardson went down in the first quarter with a mild left-ankle sprain. He left with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter without having scored a point.

With two starters - maybe three including Jaric - sidelined, the Clippers needed to pick up scoring slack. They got solid offensive performances from Corey Maggette, who had 33 points, and Predrag Drobnjak, who added 20 for the Clippers (4-6).

The biggest success the Clippers had was at the free-throw line, making 33 of 40, including Maggette's 18 of 20.

Other than Maggette and Drobnjak, no one else scored in double figures for the Clippers, and nobody contained the Rockets' weapons.

Steve Francis had 19 points and nine rebounds, and center Yao Ming had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets (9-4).

Cuttino Mobley and former Clipper Maurice Taylor each added 17 points.

After having a four-game winning streak when they returned from Japan to start the season, the Clippers have a four-game losing streak as they lost their first home game this season.

As ugly as things looked for the Clippers through three quarters, they trailed only 73-66 heading into the fourth quarter. That was good news for the Clippers because Houston held a double-digit lead for the majority of the third quarter, and the Clippers' offense was stagnant. The only real success was getting to the free-throw line.

The Clippers closed the third quarter with a 10-2 run with Drobnjak scoring the last eight points.

Joe Stevens, [phone]

joe.stevens(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Yao Ming stretches for a rebound in Houston's 105-90 win over the Clippers. Yao had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Chris Urso/Associated Press