SHORT-HANDED CLIPPERS BURNED WITH MAGGETTE ON SIDELINES, L.A. CAN'T KEEP PACE WITH SUNS PHOENIX 112, CLIPPERS 102.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

The Phoenix Suns ran ablaze in the first half, and nothing the Clippers did could bring them back.

Not a better second half than the Suns.

Not 27 points from Sam Cassell.

Not even the applause of Cuttino Mobley, who was whistled for an early third foul, with replays showing his only infraction was clapping at the Suns' Leandro Barbosa.

Phoenix outran and outshot the Clippers early, and they never recovered in a 112-102 loss in front of 16,888 on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

``That team could have blown out a lot of teams tonight,'' Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. ``Our guys stayed tough. We battled back, played with a lot of energy. Another thing that came out of it that was good for our guys is to tell us that we're not ready for prime time right now. We got a lot of work to do.''

Phoenix, the highest-scoring team in the NBA, went 11 for 26 (42.3 percent) from 3-point range, while the Clippers went 1 for 7 (14.3 percent). The Suns had 21 fastbreak points to the Clippers' two.

Shawn Marion had 30 points and 17 rebounds for the Suns, and Steve Nash showed why he was selected as the league's MVP last season with 20 points and 18 assists.

Phoenix led by 21 points in the third quarter, but the Clippers hung around in the fourth quarter and pulled to within six, 100-94, with 7:18 left, when Daniel Ewing made a 3-point shot - the Clippers' only 3-pointer of the game. But that was as close as they got in the fourth quarter.

They nearly pulled to within three points with 6:04 left when Mobley scored and a foul was called. But he was whistled for an offensive foul on a borderline play.

The Clippers could argue that was a missed call. But they certainly can claim that Mobley's third foul with 11:16 to go in the second quarter was absolutely wrong, because video evidence showed all he did was clap to get the call.

``I was fined in past years for saying stuff, so it's just a bad game,'' Mobley said. ``That's all. I shouldn't put our team in that situation. I'm one of the guys who needs to play a lot of minutes. Everyone has bad game.''

Mobley finished with four points on 1-of-9 shooting. With the Clippers falling down so early and so big, they couldn't really expect to come back.

``It's kind of hard to battle back, you know,'' Mobley said. ``We didn't have time. On their side is the clock. On our side is nobody. That's what it was.''

Cassell also didn't get too many favorable calls and was slapped with a technical foul just before halftime.

``Losing Cuttino early, a guy we depend on to put the ball in the basket - that was tough,'' Cassell said. ``But it happens that way. We showed our spirit, that we're still going to fight to the end and hang in there.''

Phoenix was coming off a blowout loss at Sacramento on Tuesday, and Cassell said that fueled the Suns' explosive performance.

As for the officiating, he said, ``That was big right there. They called an offensive foul. I never question a referee's call, but that was a tough one to swallow.''

--Notes: Phoenix CEO and chairman Jerry Colangelo, the managing director of USA Basketball, spoke with Elton Brand before Wednesday's game to gauge his interest in playing on the 2008 Olympic team, but no offered ... Point guard Shaun Livingston scored a season-high 16 points, with 14 in the first half.

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Photo:

Clippers center Chris Kaman fights for a rebound with two Phoenix defenders.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer