CLIPPERS SURVIVE LAKERS COMEBACK : CLIPPERS 97 LAKERS 95.Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff Writer With 17,505 yelling for the Lakers to finish their furious rally, the Clippers finally decided that the embarrassment of blowing a 24-point lead was too much to bear. Losing to a Phoenix team that was 6-25 on the road the night before was bad enough, but to compound that with a squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. lead to their arch-rival might have been fatal to their playoff chances. With the raucous fans yelling, pleading for the short-handed Lakers to pull out yet another comeback victory, the Clippers finally stood up for themselves when it counted. Malik Sealy Malik Sealy (February 1, 1970 – May 20, 2000) was an American professional basketball player from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident. Sealy played eight seasons in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Detroit Pistons, and the Minnesota slammed home a missed layup by Darrick Martin Darrick David Martin (born March 6, 1971 in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American professional basketball player, currently with the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Martin has became known as a solid veteran who provided quality minutes as a reserve, maintaining a career free with 7.3 seconds left and the Clippers prevailed in a 97-95 thriller Friday night at the Forum. The Lakers called timeout with 5.5 seconds left, but Nick Van Exel's 19-footer was partially blocked by Pooh Richardson Jerome "Pooh" Richardson (born May 14 1966 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. The 6'1" point guard was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the tenth overall pick of the 1989 NBA Draft out of UCLA. - whose 20 minutes was the most he's played since the Clippers whipped the Lakers 108-86 at the Anaheim Arena on Feb. 4. ``You saw that (Phoenix) game (Thursday night),'' Clippers coach Bill Fitch William Fitch (born May 19 1934 in Davenport, Iowa) is a former NBA coach who has been successful in making teams playoff contenders throughout his coaching career. Before entering the professional ranks he coached college ball at the University of Minnesota, Bowling Green State said. ``To come back and pull this one out shows you this team really has heart. These aren't the most talented guys, but they work hard.'' The Clippers took a 67-43 lead midway through the third quarter and were threatening to make it a second-consecutive laugher over their L.A. counterparts. Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. and Eddie Jones led a 20-6 run that spilled into the fourth quarter. The Lakers put up threes - making 10 of 20 in the second half - and meticulously cut the Clippers' lead to single digits. The atmosphere reached a fever pitch fever pitch n. A state of extreme agitation or excitement. fever pitch Noun a state of intense excitement Noun 1. and Lakers coach Del Harris, who played everybody but Larry Krystkowiak Larry Brett Krystkowiak (born September 23 1964 in Missoula, Montana) is an American former professional basketball player, and the current head coach of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. He grew up primarily in Shelby, Montana. to find an answer, was ejected with 6:17 left in the game for walking past the coaches' box and then arguing with Ed Middleton near the midcourt line. Bryant had 12 points in the second half and back-to-back 3-pointers by the rookie and Byron Scott Byron Scott may refer to:
However, the Clippers held ground, they picked up key offensive rebounds against a tired Lakers bunch and used Rodney Rogers to dominate inside. Rogers (21 points) was fouled with 39.5 seconds left and hit one free throw for a 96-95 lead. Elden Campbell, ineffective the entire game offensively, could only match that after being fouled by Loy Vaught with 26.3 seconds left. The Clippers worked the clock down and Martin drove for his patented leaning layup, it missed long and Sealy jumped over Campbell for the dunk. Sealy had been in the game just over a minute after sitting out nearly an entire quarter. ``I felt I had to do something and luckily the ball came off the rim right,'' Sealy said. ``It was perfect and I'm glad I helped get us a win. It should give us some confidence.'' The Clippers (27-35) picked up a crucial win in a stretch of games with Pacific Division foes. After the clunker clunk·er n. Informal 1. A decrepit machine, especially an old car; a rattletrap. 2. A failure; a flop. on Thursday, the Clippers came out as a totally different team, taking the lead late in the first quarter and holding it until the final two minutes. The Lakers added to the effort by acting uninterested until the third quarter. Despite the rally, they shot 38 percent, including 35 percent from the starters. Down the stretch, Bryant and the offensive rebounding of Corie Blount (12, one from the team record) was their only salvation. It was almost enough. ``It we could come out feeling we're embarrassed every night, and have that kind of energy, we'd be fine,'' said Jones, who led the Lakers with 22 points, 16 in the second half. ``I think it's attitude, I don't think guys are going out and thinking of the game plan. We're acting like it's going to be a walk-through.'' Note: The Lakers released forward Krystkowiak, who played in just three games for the club. The team had until today to sign him for the remainder of the season. CAPTION(S): Photo, 2 Boxes Photo: (Color) Clippers' Charles Outlaw tries to discourage a drive by the Lakers' Nick Van Exel Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during . Tom Mendoza/Daily News Box: (1) FROM TOP TO BOTTOM (2) LAKERS BOX |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion