ROGERS, TAYLOR KEEP CLIPPERS HOT - FOR THEM : CLIPPERS 105, VANCOUVER 96.Byline: Art Thompson III Orange County Register By Clippers standards, they are coming out in droves to the Sports Arena lately. A gathering of 13,493 came by Saturday night to see the red-hot Clippers (again, by their standards) whip the Vancouver Grizzlies The name Grizzlies may refer to:
It was the second consecutive victory for the Clippers (9-35) and their second such streak this season. It also prevented them from being swept in the season series by the Grizzlies (8-37), who had defeated the Clippers three previous times but now own the NBA's worst record. Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971, in Durham, North Carolina) is a retired American basketball player who last played power forward for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Rogers played college basketball at Wake Forest University from 1990 until 1993. scored a season-high 19 points off the bench and Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player at the power forward position. He was most recently with the NBA's Sacramento Kings, released on January 23, 2007. gave the Grizzlies a dose of the offense he administered Friday to Houston. Taylor, who scored 29 against the Rockets, had 25 against Vancouver. ``My teammates are putting me in positions where I can get easy baskets,'' Taylor said. Rogers' quarter was the fourth, when the Clippers had to overcome a five-point deficit. He buried two 3-pointers in one minute. ``We had to do something after we blew the lead we had,'' Rogers said. Clippers shooting guard The Shooting guard (SG), also known as the two or off guard,[1] is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. Eric Piatkowski Eric Todd Piatkowski (pronounced IPA: /ˌpaɪətˈkaʊski/) (born September 30, 1970, in Steubenville, Ohio) is an American National Basketball Association player with the Phoenix Suns. was a menace in the first half, coming off screens to hit 4 of 6 shots. The Clippers shot a season-high 54.5 percent (24 of 44) from the floor and buried 4 of 8 from 3-point range. Included was the first 3-pointer of Taylor's career. He did not try a 3-pointer as a rookie and had missed his previous three attempts this season until beating the first-quarter buzzer with a 24-foot floater Floater A bond or other type of debt whose coupon rate changes with market conditions (short-term interest rates). Also known as "floating-rate debt". Notes: For example, a floater bond may have the coupon rate set at "T-bill rate plus 0.5%". straightaway straight·a·way adj. 1. Extending in a straight line or course without a curve or turn. 2. Unhesitating; immediate: a straightaway denial. n. . It gave the Clippers a 31-27 lead and temporarily caused the 24-second shot clock to go blank. It was no shock the Clippers had trouble containing Shareef Abdur-Rahim Julius Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976 in Marietta, Georgia) is an American professional basketball player. Presently, he plays for the Sacramento Kings, a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). . Every NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= team has its hands full with the Grizzlies' third-year forward, who would have been a senior at Cal this season had he not gone to the NBA after his freshman year. Abdur-Rahim scored 20 points in the first half en route to a game-high 27. But the Clippers had surprising trouble with center Tony Massenburg. In the three previous meetings against the Clippers, Massenburg had averaged six points and made 7 of 22 field-goal attempts. But in this one, he scored 22. The third quarter has been the Clippers' undoing all season, and when the Grizzlies began the period with an 8-0 spurt, they jumped in front 60-58. Vancouver outscored the Clippers 30-19 in the quarter to start the fourth quarter ahead 82-77. ``Personally, I hit the wall,'' Taylor said. ``I was dead tired, but Coach (Chris Ford) got on us and told us we had to fight for this game.'' The Clippers have been playing at a much higher level in April than at any previous time. Six of the team's eight victories have come this month. Included are victories against three playoff-bound teams - Houston, Portland and Minnesota. ``The first part of the year we had no confidence and guys were on individual goals,'' veteran point guard Sherman Douglas said. ``We got off to a bad start and guys begin thinking, `What can I do for myself?' And we couldn't win that way. We don't have that type of team.'' |
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