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 the struggling Eddy Curry to look like a superstar, and it looked as if they finally were laying an egg at home.

But even though they continued to struggle offensively, they clamped down defensively, holding the Knicks to an absurdly low 17.6 percent shooting (6 of 34) in the second half to eke out a 84-79 victory in front of 15,316 Wednesday night.

After Sam Cassell made one of two free throws with 3:02 to play, the Clippers took a 72-71 lead, their first since the first quarter. Quinton Ross added a jump shot, and Cuttino Mobley made a 3-point shot with 1:51 left to give the Clippers a 77-71 lead and breathing room.

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.

Elton Brand finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Cassell added 16 points and 11 assists. Mobley had 24 points.

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

Curry repeatedly got the ball close to the basket and scored easily on Kaman. By the second half, the Clippers moved Brand over to guard him.

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

``They got out to a bad start,'' Dunleavy said. ``They went 0-5 to start the season. Why? I don't know. They have a good backcourt and some solid post players. (New Knicks coach Larry Brown) has got them playing good basketball, and they've been .500 since their start.''

Against the Clippers, 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 Clippers had no answer for Curry, who had 17 points and seven rebounds by halftime. Kaman had no points and just one rebound at the half.

Practically every Clipper struggled in the first half, except for Brand and Cassell. They both scored 13 points, accounting for 26 of the team's 39 first-half points.

One of the facts that Dunleavy has been most proud is the team's overall strong defense this season. Coming into the game, the Clippers led the league in field-goal defense, allowing their opponents to shoot just 40.8 percent from the field.

Behind Curry, the Knicks, who led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, shot completely different, shooting 52.5 percent to the Clippers' 34.9 percent in the first half. Although the Knicks attracted numerous stars in the crowd, including Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, Curry was the obvious star of the first half.

--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