CLIPPERS TAKE HARD WAY OUT IN EASY WIN LARGE LEADS ALMOST FRITTERED AWAY CLIPPERS 101, DALLAS 92.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

The Clippers played strong defense and out-rebounded the Dallas Mavericks 52-32 to pick up a 101-92 victory Wednesday night in front of 16,531 at Staples Center.

Compared to their last-second nail-biters, this one was relatively easy as they jumped to an 18-point lead in the second quarter. But in this season of last-minute losses and frequent heartache, no lead is safe for the Clippers.

Dallas forged back to pull within five points in the third quarter and six points early in the fourth quarter, before the Clippers took control.

``We crushed them on the boards,'' said Elton Brand, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. ``And to crush them on the boards and not have a bigger lead, it evened out with their perimeter shooting and with the smaller lineups that they're able to bring.''

In the fourth quarter, the Mavs pulled to 79-73 with 10:36 left when Jerry Stackhouse made a jump shot.

The Clippers then seemingly took control, going up 96-80 with 5:09 to play.

But in a brief fourth-quarter stretch, the Clippers watched as Dallas rattled off a 10-0 run to pull to 96-90 with 2:37 left.

The run made Dallas coach Don Nelson reinsert Dirk Nowitzki, who he took out because the game looked out of reach.

The Clippers finally sealed the victory with defensive stops and two free throws each by Bobby Simmons and Maggette to take an 100-90 lead with 2:18 left.

Maggette had 34 points and eight rebounds, and reserve Mikki Moore added 12 points and nine rebounds.

It was his most points since Dec. 21.

But the big key was defense as Dallas was held under 100 points in a loss for the first time since Feb. 4. Nowitzki finished with 25 points, but had four turnovers.

``We focused on helping each other,'' said Rick Brunson, who had nine assists.

``We just kept rotating and getting to Dirk, and we made other guys, who aren't known for their scoring, shoot the ball.''

The Clippers' win Wednesday put them three games behind the Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

In the next three games, they meet teams that aren't too far ahead of them in the standings.

``It's a good thing,'' Dunleavy said.

``We got Denver, Memphis and the Lakers right in front of us. It's in our hands. This is what we asked for. We want to play these type of games as it gets later in the season.''

--Clippers notes: A story on Sports Illustrated's Web site listed the top five most improved players in the NBA, and Bobby Simmons was No. 1 on the list. Going into Wednesday's game, he was averaging 16.7 points and 37.8 minutes, compared to last season's 7.8 points and 24.6 minutes. ... Marko Jaric underwent an MRI on the stress fracture in his right foot and said that he is expected to be out for about another 10 days. ... The Clippers won their season series 2-1 with Dallas. They hadn't won a series season against the Mavs since the 1997-98 season.

Veteran Kenny Anderson saw his first action with the Clippers in a spot role, getting his first minutes to start the fourth quarter.

Joe Stevens, [phone]

joe.stevens(at)presstelegram.com

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