Schedule Is About to Become Unkind

And now comes the hard part.

The Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors, 105-92, Sunday at Staples Center and went 4-3 on a seven-game homestand, saying it wasn’t as successful as they had hoped.

Moreover, the Clippers’ mediocre performance at Staples Center could make things harder for them in their remaining schedule before the All-Star break.

Beginning tonight against the Warriors at Oakland, the Clippers play nine of their next 14 games on the road, including their longest trip of the season.

On Jan. 29, they begin an 11-day, six-game East Coast swing. The Clippers are 7-9 on the road.

Included in that stretch are games against top-tier teams Detroit and Miami.

Starting small forward Corey Maggette is not expected to return before the four-day All-Star break, Feb. 17-20, and Coach Mike Dunleavy recently said he doubted the Clippers would make a significant trade soon.

The road ahead won’t be easy, the Clippers said.

“You know that, you know it’s always going to be tough on the road in this league, but you can’t do anything about the schedule,” point guard Sam Cassell said. “We just have to go out and play hard like I know this team can.

“Would we rather have Corey Maggette back before we go out? Of course. There isn’t a team in this league that wouldn’t want to have Corey Maggette back because of what he does for this team. But complaining isn’t going to help.”

Dunleavy recently expressed concern that the Clippers had lost their “edge,” saying he wouldn’t tolerate excuses.

“We’re in a playoff fight, so right now it’s every game, you’ve got to come with that mind-set,” he said. “When you’re playing great teams, your only chance of beating them is playing harder than them. You have to catch them when you’re giving better effort than they give.”

*

Backup center Zeljko Rebraca, sidelined since late November after undergoing a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat, was activated before the game and received an ovation when he entered with nine minutes left in the second quarter.

The four-year veteran grabbed an offensive rebound and scored his only points with 6:18 remaining before halftime. Rebraca played five minutes.

TONIGHT

at Golden State, 7:30, FSN West 2

Site -- The Arena in Oakland.

Radio -- 1150.

Records -- Clippers 21-16, Warriors 19-20.

Record vs. Warriors -- 2-0.

Update -- The teams meet for the second time in as many days. The Clippers won both games at Oakland last season.