CLIPS FIND THEIR LEVEL SECOND-WORST TEAM IN WEST DEFEATS WORST; WANG NETS 21 CLIPPERS 91, DENVER 78.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

The beginning of the Clippers game Wednesday night was unlike any other in team history. Stone-cold silence fell onto Staples Center, and on the video screen at center court, President Bush's televised address was shown.

Bush's words reverberated throughout the arena 15 minutes before the Clippers' game was scheduled to begin, and the words explained an attack on Iraq had begun.

After Bush's address, fans applauded, and then a statement was made by the Clippers' public-address announcer, who explained the White House has urged the NBA to continue its schedule despite the war.

The country tune ``Proud to be an American'' was played throughout the arena, and just 15 minutes later than scheduled, the Clippers took on the Denver Nuggets.

Amid the news of the start of the war, the Clippers took the attitude of ``the show must go on'' and walked away with a 91-78 victory over the Nuggets in front of 15,590.

``It was a tough night to play,'' Clippers veteran Eric Piatkowski said. ``I was at home, having a bite to eat when the deadline passed, and on my way here I was listening to the radio, seeing if anything would happen. Then, when I was here I kept wondering what was happening, and then, as a team, we watched Bush's address.''

Piatkowski said the moment was something he won't soon forget.

``It was the first time in my entire career that the start of a game was pushed back for something like that,'' Piatkowski said. ``It's a different time now. With a wife and family, I'm very concerned with what's happening.''

Throughout the game, there were a couple of moments that were remembrances of the war, such as when the players all applauded before the singing of ``God Bless America'' prior to the game. But overall, it was a relatively typical game between two teams far out of the playoffs and bound for the draft lottery.

The Clippers got key scoring from their bench, including a career-high 21 points from Wang Zhizhi, and led the entire second half. They took a 57-42 lead with 5:37 left in the third quarter, and after that, Denver never got closer than eight points.

Afterward, talk of the war dominated the Clippers' dressing room.

``Sports is something we need to get our minds off the crazy things that are happening,'' Lamar Odom said. ``It's something we need to keep our mind off what's going on. Movies, sports and music are all very important for us right now. Especially tonight, I wanted to come out here, play a great game, be focused and win for the fans.''

On the court, there was a lack of drama between the two worst teams in the Western Conference. The Clippers (22-46) never let Denver (14-54) threaten in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets never got closer than nine points.

Statistically, both teams struggled as the Clippers shot just 40 percent and the Nuggets shot 40.8 percent.

Juwan Howard scored 24 points to lead Denver, which suffered from the free-throw line, shooting just 54.5 percent (12 of 22).

Several Clippers said they were rushing home to watch further developments about the war in Iraq, and for some of them, it was an emotional night.

``All that stuff going on is really crazy,'' Quentin Richardson said. ``You think, `Oh, that stuff is going to start.' But then you forget about it, and you don't realize it's really happening until it does.''

Richardson had a sensational dunk in the second quarter, and instead of putting his two fists on his head as he normally does, he did something new.

``When I got the dunk, I gave a salute,'' he said. ``That was a shout-out to the people that are out there fighting.''

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

The Clippers' Lamar Odom, right, goes around Denver's Juwan Howard.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News

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GAME RECAP