CLIPS ON DEFENSIVE L.A. HOLDS N.Y. TO 17.6% SHOOTING IN 2ND HALF, WINS CLIPPERS 84, NEW YORK 79.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

Hardly anything went right for the Clippers in the first half against the Knicks. They trailed by 13 points, allowed struggling New York center Eddy Curry to look like a superstar, and it appeared as if they finally were laying an egg at home.

But then they clamped down.

They held the Knicks to an absurdly low 17.6 percent shooting in the second half to eke out an 84-79 victory in front of 15,316 Wednesday night at Staples Center.

``This game - I have to hand it to our guys, how they stayed with it defensively after that first half,'' Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. ``In the first half, we were awful.''

In the second half, however, the Clippers hardly gave the Knicks any easy shots, allowing just 29 points. But they trailed until Sam Cassell made 1 of 2 free throws with 3:02 left to give the Clippers a 72-71 lead.

Then, the timely shooting kicked in. Quinton Ross made a jumper, and Cuttino Mobley added a 3-point shot with 1:51 left to give the Clippers a 77-71 lead.

The Knicks pulled to 78-75, but Chris Kaman answered with a jump shot with 46.3 seconds left to give the Clippers an 80-75 lead and breathing room they were able to ride until the final buzzer.

``It was ugly, but a win's a win,'' said Elton Brand, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds. ``In the second half, we got Curry out of the low box. He was posting up so deep. He was hurting us.''

Curry pounded the Clippers inside for the majority of the night and finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, even though he scored a total of nine points in his previous two games combined.

Curry had 17 points and seven rebounds in the first half, compared to his counterpart at center, Kaman, who had no points and just one rebound in the half.

``We weren't awake,'' Kaman said. ``Nobody was awake in the first half. Eddy Curry was tearing us up inside, and we didn't do a good job on him, myself especially.''

According to the NBA's schedule, the Knicks were supposed to be the team that wasn't awake. New York had the unfortunate whirlwind schedule of playing in Seattle the previous night. But that schedule didn't seem to affect the Knicks, who led 50-39 at halftime.

The Knicks, according to Brooklyn-born Dunleavy, have the elements of a strong team, even though they fell to 6-12 on Wednesday.

Although the majority of the game was ugly, Cassell finished with 16 points and 11 assists. Mobley had 24 points. Their play in the final minutes again prevented a Clippers meltdown, which happened frequently last season.

``Sam followed me, and that is the reason that we came here - to hit big shots,'' Mobley said.

--Clippers note: Corey Maggette missed Wednesday's game with a sprained ligament in his left foot and is considered day to day. Rookie James Singleton took his place in the starting lineup.

Joe Stevens, [phone]

joe.stevens(at)presstelegram.com

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Photo:

New York's Eddy Curry, center, tries to pass around the Clippers' Elton Brand on Wednesday.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press