Clippers Are Beaten, Then Meet to Try to Figure Out Why

Is the sky really falling, or does it just seem that way to the Clippers?

Midway through the second quarter Wednesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills, during a TV timeout, a five-foot piece of metal paneling fell from the scoreboard, tip first. It cut a divot in the wood between the top of the three-point circle and midcourt.

That’s nothing. The Pistons landed feet first on the Clippers, who are merely falling from grace. Detroit won, 110-103, before 21,454 and gave the Clippers a 16-15 record only 3 1/2 weeks after they were 12-7.

That generated a rare players-only meeting, about 20 minutes in length but a long time coming.

“Tonight’s loss brought it on,” said Loy Vaught, who had a season-high 20 points in his first start this season. “But it had been lingering.”

Lingering because the Clippers came in having lost seven of 11 games and had played poorly in a defeat by Indiana on Tuesday before Wednesday’s loss. Lingering because they had failed to take advantage of the longest home stand of the season and, after winning at New York last Saturday, had lost consecutive games to teams below .500. Lingering because Coach Larry Brown has been openly critical of the lack of leadership from captains Danny Manning, Ron Harper and Mark Jackson and voluminous in his disgust regarding defense and rebounding.

So what happened?

The Pistons led by 17 points in the second quarter and 19 late in the third. They shot 55.4%, and Dennis Rodman had 23 rebounds, the 15th time in the last 20 games he has had at least 20. The Clipper starters combined for 25 rebounds.

“We just didn’t defend as good as we can,” Brown said. “We are not challenging shots right now, and we are not going hard after the (rebounds). We are just not doing it, and it’s obvious.”

As Brown fumed, the players huddled, the rarity being that it came after a game.

“We talked a little about how we were playing so well early on, and how we’re not playing well now,” said Gary Grant, who had 15 points on seven-of-nine shooting in his third start. “We asked everyone to look back at what they were doing before, so they can do it again. Nothing mean was said. Nobody was arguing. It was a good meeting.”

Said Vaught: “We just kind of feel lousy. We feel lost. We can’t put a finger on what is making us play this way after playing so well before.”

Will the meeting help? Two of the veterans, Manning and Ken Norman, had the same answer.

“We’ll see.”

Brown played the heavy long before his players became introspective, turning Manning--who had scored 67 points in the previous two games--into a reserve. Manning’s spot in the starting lineup went to Michigan product Vaught, another of Brown’s ceremonial moves for players returning home. But Manning played only 24 minutes, and none until only 1:18 remained in the opening quarter. He scored 17 points.

“I didn’t think he was defending well when I took him out the last time,” Brown said. “Then we made a good run with him out.”

Said Manning, whose streak of 126 consecutive starts, eighth-longest active run in the league, was snapped: “I’ve just got to do whatever I can to help the team, whether I play two minutes or four minutes. I’ve just got to go out and play.”

Manning played two minutes in the fourth quarter, when, as they did against Indiana, the Clippers rallied to make it look respectable. The deficit was 21 points with 8:19 to play before they cut it to 10 with 1:23 left; then to nine on Grant’s three-pointer with 53 seconds to go; then seven for the final margin.

Clipper Notes

Gary Grant, who also played at Michigan, started in place of Ron Harper. Each played 31 minutes. . . . Dennis Rodman’s recent game-by-game rebounding: 23, 24, 16, 23, 18, 22, 27. He is at 18.9 overall, the highest average of the season and four more than the closest competitor, Shaquille O’Neal. . . . Ken Norman led the Clippers with 23 points. Mark Jackson had 12 assists.