CLIPPERS WIN THIRD IN A ROW BRAND'S 27 POINTS LEAD ROUT OF NEW ORLEANS CLIPPERS 109, NEW ORLEANS 80.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

If the past three games are any indication, the Clippers are a far cry from the selfish team of a year ago.

On Monday, four players scored in double figures, with Elton Brand getting 27 points and 13 rebounds, and the Clippers won their third consecutive game with a 109-80 blowout of the New Orleans Hornets in front of a season-low 11,961 at Staples Center.

It was the first time this season the Clippers led the entire game. In the fourth quarter, the closest New Orleans got was 79-65 with 11:16 left. But the Clippers used multiple weapons - inside scoring by Brand and outside shooting from his teammates - to go up 85-65 with 9:20 left.

The Clippers also led by 20 points in the third quarter. And with the Hornets' starters still playing, they had their biggest lead, 99-76, when Marko Jaric scored off a pass from Brand with 4:30 left.

If anything was a downer in this happy-go-lucky Clippers win, it was that Corey Maggette went down with 11:26 left with a sprained right ankle. He finished with 13 points and will be re-evaluated today.

Jaric scored 19 points and distributed the ball well with eight assists. Quentin Richardson added 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Clippers (9-11) also halted the streaking Hornets (17-8), who had won four in a row and four in a row on the road. The defense was key, holding New Orleans to 35.7 percent shooting.

Jamaal Magloire led the Hornets with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Baron Davis added 16 points and eight assists, and P.J. Brown had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Clippers led 79-63.

The Clippers led 48-44 at halftime after New Orleans closed strong with an 11-2 run.

The Hornets were fortunate to be down four points at the half after shooting just 36.4 percent. Magloire was key to their success with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Brand had similar first-half numbers with 17 points and seven rebounds and was the only Clipper in double figures in the first half.

As has been Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy's tendency, he went deep into his rotation in the first half, using all of his available players except Keyon Dooling. Dooling did get abbreviated playing time in the second half.

When asked why Dooling has been seeing few minutes, Dunleavy responded, ``If a guy plays well, he gets playing time.''

Joe Stevens, [phone]

joe.stevens(at)dailynews.com

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