Clippers’ Shot at Victory Ends Up Out of Bounds : Pro basketball: Team falls to 0-12 after Ellis’ 19-point fourth quarter triggers big rally before costly misstep in 107-102 loss to Nets.

One foot.

That’s how close the Clippers came to winning their first game of the season.

Trailing the New Jersey Nets, 105-102, with 11.2 seconds left, Clipper forward Harold Ellis made an apparent game-tying three-pointer.

However, the shot was nullified because Ellis’ left foot was out of bounds when he took the pass from guard Pooh Richardson and the Nets held on for a 107-102 victory before an announced crowd of 7,160 Friday at the Sports Arena to extend the Clippers’ season-opening losing streak to 12 games.

“I knew I had to get behind the (three-point) line for the three and I guess I stepped out of bounds,” Ellis said. “Coach said I had both feet out of bounds (replays showed that he had his left foot on the line) and it was an excellent call if I stepped out of bounds.”

Said Clipper Coach Bill Fitch: “That was a good call. He had both feet out of bounds. If the official misses that call with what we’ve been through and if he and I don’t agree, I’d probably get the gun out.

“We’ve played 12 games and I think we’ve covered the waterfront just about every which way there is to (lose). No two games have been the same. You can’t say we’re boring. There are a lot of teams with better records that don’t bring as much excitement to the ballpark as these guys.”

But you can say they’re the NBA’s only winless team.

The Clippers are five losses from tying the record for the worst start in league history, established when the expansion Miami Heat dropped their first 17 games in 1988.

“This is tough because I’ve never been a loser,” said Ellis, who scored a season-high 24 points, including 19 in the final quarter as the Clippers almost overcame a 20-point deficit. “Losing a lot of games in a row is tough because it’s something you can’t get used to. We all just want to get that one win.

“If I’d made that shot at least we would have had a chance to win it because the game would have gone to overtime. It’s frustrating because it takes a lot of out of you. But we’re still going to put it together and win. We’re getting closer and closer and hopefully we’ll get that win.”

Net guard Sleepy Floyd said a loss to the Clippers, who lost by only one point at New Jersey last Sunday, would have been embarrassing.

“The first team to lose to the Clippers is going to be embarrassed,” Floyd said. “Who is it going to be? There’s pressure playing them in this kind of situation. You can’t be the first one to lose to them.”

The Clippers, who trailed by as much as 20 points in the third quarter, didn’t quit.

Trailing, 104-94, with 2:20 remaining, Ellis scored eight points in a 57-second span to cut the deficit to 104-102.

Ellis, who scored the Clippers’ final 10 points, got so excited during the rally that he intentionally high-fived reserve forward Sean Higgins of the Nets after he made a layup and was fouled.

The Clippers, who shot 59% in the fourth quarter, had a chance to tie it after All-Star guard Kenny Anderson, who had 22 points and 14 assists, threw the ball away while trying to pass to Derrick Coleman underneath the basket with 49 seconds left, but Clipper forward Tony Massenburg missed a short jumper with 37 seconds left and Ellis fouled Net forward Armon Gilliam as they fought for the rebound. Gilliam made one of two free throws with 36 seconds left to give the Nets a 105-102 lead.

The Clippers called time to set up a play and Richardson hit center Matt Fish with a pass underneath the basket. But Fish lost control of the ball when he put it on the floor and was tied up by Gilliam. Fish, who twisted his right ankle in the scramble for the loose ball, controlled the tip, getting the ball to rookie forward Eric Piatkowski with 24.6 seconds left. After getting a pass from Piatkowski, Richardson passed to Ellis, who was out of bounds.

“We’ve got one of the youngest teams in the league and the oldest coach (60) and I’m getting (older) by the day,” Fitch said.

Clippers On-Line

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* MIRACLE MAVERICKS

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