CLIPPERS TAKE A BIG STEP : RALLY BURIES DENVER; POSTSEASON NEARS CLIPPERS 116, DENVER 94.Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff Writer In one 15-minute segment, the Clippers made an 180-degree turn, landing one step closer to their postseason destiny. After 24 minutes of uninspired basketball against the lowly Denver Nuggets Nuggets can refer to several branches of interest:
A mammoth effort from Lorenzen Wright Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright (born November 4 1975) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. After being selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1996 NBA Draft out of the University of Memphis, the 6'11" (2. (23 points, 14 rebounds) and another strong performance from Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971, in Durham, North Carolina) is a retired American basketball player who last played power forward for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Rogers played college basketball at Wake Forest University from 1990 until 1993. (26 points, 5 of 5 3-pointers) led the Clippers, who scored the first eight points of the third quarter and never trailed again. The win puts the Clippers three games ahead of Sacramento with four to play. The Kings have Utah and the Lakers See Lake poets remaining on the schedule, nearly clinching the Clippers' chances for their first postseason berth in four years. The Clippers were tied at 50-50 at the break and were playing the same inconsistent basketball plaguing them in the past two games. However, Wright came through with key baskets and Brent Barry Brent Robert Barry (born December 31, 1971 in Hempstead, New York) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. He is known by his nickname, "Bones", and stands 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m). sparked the third-quarter run. Barry had eight assists while Rogers continued his incredible 3-point streak. He has made nine straight but is shooting just 33 percent for the season. The Nuggets, who played the Lakers to a standstill standstill /stand·still/ (stand´stil?) cessation of activity, as of the heart (cardiac s.) or chest (respiratory s.) . stand·still n. Complete cessation of activity or progress. last week before falling apart in the second half, shot 34 percent after the break. After watching Sacramento win two of three to make the race interesting, the Clippers finally regained their momentum after two tough losses. They had to endure watching the Timberwolves celebrate their first playoff berth at the Sports Arena on Thursday. The key all season has been bench support. That wasn't the case in the past two games, where the club has relied on one big scorer. Against Minnesota, Rogers scored 30 points, however the rest of the team shot 30 percent. Saturday, the reserves pitched in with 33 points and four starters scored in double figures. ``If one guy didn't do the job, we usually had somebody come off the bench who could,'' Fitch said. ``We haven't had anybody do that lately. We're depending on one guy.'' Sealy continued his roller-coaster season, hitting five of his first six field goals for 12 points in the first half. That's 48 hours after Sealy registered his second-worst game of the season, an 0-for-9, one-point job against the Timberwolves. Sealy is supposed to be the Clippers' best outside shooter but has hit barely 40 percent from the field. His confidence seems to depend on every shot. After his blazing start, he missed his next eight shots. In the decisive third quarter, he then made four straight. He finished with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. ``It's tough sometimes when you aren't shooting well and can't help the team,'' Sealy said. ``I just deal with it. When I don't shoot well, it seems like the basket has a lid on it. The only way to make things better is to win.'' The Clippers struggled with the lowly Nuggets in the first two quarters. They couldn't stop Antonio McDyess Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7 1974, in Quitman, Mississippi) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA. MyDyess is listed at 6'9" (2.06 m), 245 lb. (111 kg) and is the starting power forward for the Detroit Pistons. , who has given the Clippers nightmares in the past. He had 18 points at the break while 3-point specialist Dale Ellis Dale Ellis (born August 6, 1960 in Marietta, Georgia) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. After his time at the University of Tennessee, Ellis was selected ninth overall in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. hit all six of his field goals for 14. The Nuggets are without LaPhonso Ellis LaPhonso Darnell Ellis (born May 5 1970 in East St. Louis, Illinois) is an American former professional basketball player. He was an outstanding high school basketball player at East St. and Brian Stith because of injuries and they traded away Mark Jackson Mark Jackson may refer to:
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