Clippers trim Sonics
LOS ANGELES – Corey Maggette scored 18 points, including a pair of tiebreaking free throws with 27 seconds left, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a gritty 96-91 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday night.
The Clippers played their first game since point guard Shaun Livingston tore three ligaments in his left knee and dislocated his kneecap. Sam Cassell, who came in averaging 26.7 minutes a game at age 37, played 34 minutes against the Sonics and had 16 points and five assists.
Clippers forward Elton Brand, who came in averaging a team-high 20.7 points, started at center for the fourth straight game and was 0 for 3 from the field in the first half. He was 5 for 14 overall, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Rashard Lewis scored 21 points for the Sonics, who got 19 each from Ray Allen and reserve guard Earl Watson.
Chris Wilcox, a former Clippers first-round draft pick who was traded to Seattle last February for snowboarding fan Vladimir Radmanovic, shot 6 for 6 from the field and finished with 13 points. Wilcox didn’t attempt another shot over the last 15 1/2 minutes, and committed a critical foul that led to Maggette’s go-ahead free throws.
For the first time this season, the Clippers won the opening game of a back-to-back set. They were 0 for 13 in the first game and 8-5 in the second. Los Angeles won its third in a row after losing seven of eight.
After Cassell’s layup put the Clippers ahead 91-89 with 2:48 to play, Lewis blocked a layup at the other end by Chris Kaman and Allen tied it seconds later with a short jumper. Maggette’s two free throws put Los Angeles back in front, then Watson committed one of Seattle’s 15 turnovers when his high pass for Nick Collison in the low post went off his fingertips and out of bounds.
Kaman converted Collison’s ensuing foul into two free throws with 11 seconds left.
The Clippers never trailed in the first half, converting 10 Seattle turnovers into 12 points en route to a 51-43 lead in front of their eighth sellout crowd of the season. The Sonics trailed by as many as 12 before taking their first lead, 57-56, on Collison’s layup with 8:28 left in the third quarter.
Seattle was trailing 46-35 with 2:04 left in the second quarter when coach Bob Hill got a technical foul from referee Joey Crawford for arguing that Brand should have been called for goaltending. Allen was fouled on a layup, and Brand knocked the ball away from the cylinder a split-second after the whistle blew. Allen made both free throws, but should have had a three-point play.
In their previous meeting with the SuperSonics on Jan. 28 at Seattle, the Clippers limited Allen to 15 points and matched their best defensive effort of the season with a 98-76 victory. The Sonics have been held to less than 80 points only two other times, both by San Antonio.