Clippers open up on Sonics
LOS ANGELES — Bobby Simmons stayed busy this summer, and it showed.
Simmons scored a career-high 30 points Wednesday night and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Seattle SuperSonics 114-84 to win their season opener for the first time in eight years.
The victory also was the most lopsided in an opener in franchise history for the Clippers. Their previous biggest margin to start a season was a 133-112 win over Milwaukee in 1976, when the Clippers were the Buffalo Braves.
Simmons, who hit 13 of 15 shots, said he worked extremely hard during the off-season.
“As a player, you should work on everything, and that’s what I did. I got a lot faster, got a lot stronger and trimmed down a little bit,” said the 6-foot-6, 228-pound forward. “I put up a lot of shots every day, and putting in all the long hours has paid off for me.”
Coach Mike Dunleavy obviously was pleased with the Clippers’ play, and Simmons’ in particular.
“You can’t get more efficient than he was,” Dunleavy said.
Los Angeles’ Shaun Livingston, a 6-7 rookie point guard taken out of high school with the fourth pick in the draft, played 16 minutes and had six points, five rebounds and three assists in his NBA debut.
He made his only three shots, sinking a couple of long jumpers and a reverse layup.
“I felt really good about Shaun out there,” said Dunleavy, who yelled instructions to the 19-year-old when he was on the floor. “He was getting his feet wet and he gave us a good lift. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Livingston enjoyed it.
“There were definitely butterflies, but you have to block it out and just worry about the game plan and focus on what I bring to the table,” Livingston said.
“I’m happy that coach Dunleavy has a lot of confidence in me. We’re both excited to work with each other.”
Elton Brand added 21 points, Corey Maggette 18 and Chris Wilcox 15 for Los Angeles, which opened the game with an 8-0 burst and stayed in front the rest of the way.
Rashard Lewis led Seattle with 24 points. Ray Allen and Vladimir Radmanovic added 20 points apiece.
In a matchup of teams that finished less than .500 last season, the Clippers shot 63 percent while the Sonics managed 37 percent.
“We just can’t allow a team to shoot 65 percent from the field in the first half and end up shooting 63 percent for the game,” Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. “It seemed as if they scored every time they came down the floor.”
Simmons started in place of injured Kerry Kittles.