Clippers Falter at Free-Throw Line, Lose

The Clippers must be taking free-throw lessons from Shaquille O’Neal.

The NBA’s third-worst free-throw shooting team, the Clippers shot a season-low 52.4% (22 of 42) from the line in a 106-101 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics before an announced 8,807 Sunday at the Sports Arena.

“That’s unbelievable,” said Clipper rookie guard Brent Barry, whose father, Rick, was one of the best free-throw shooters in NBA history. “That was the difference in the ballgame. Everybody wants to talk about free throws at the end of a ballgame being very important, but the first one you take in any game is just as important as the last. To miss 20 and be a professional ballclub is certainly not a good showing.

“If one guy starts missing it seems to be contagious. That’s what happened to us tonight. I don’t think we’re a real bad free throw shooting team, we’re not the greatest in the league, that’s for sure, but each guy practices enough to be a good free-throw shooter.”

Barry, who scored a season-high 30 points, made nine of 11 free throws. However, he missed a free throw when the buzzer accidentally sounded as he was shooting after the SuperSonics drew a technical foul for an illegal defense violation with 2:10 remaining.

“Somebody over on the scorer’s table has an itchy buzzer finger,” Barry said.

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch was livid, storming to the table and glaring at official scorer Kent McLaren.

“If looks could kill, our guy at the buzzer would be dead,” Fitch said. “But that kind of falls in place with the free-throw story tonight.”

McLaren accepted the blame.

“It was my mistake,” he said. “I had a question about the number of illegal defense violations and I asked the timer to sound the horn. If I had known the ball was in his hands I would have waited.”

That may explain why Barry lost his concentration, but what about the other 19 free throws the Clippers missed?

Charles Outlaw, who came into the game shooting 43.4% from the line, missed six of eight free throws and guard Terry Dehere missed three of seven as the Clippers lost their 11th consecutive game to the SuperSonics.

“If they made their free throws it could have been a whole different ballgame,” Coach George Karl said after the SuperSonics (42-12) extended their winning streak to a season-high 10 games.

The Clippers were at a disadvantage before the game began.

Forward Loy Vaught, the Clippers’ leading scorer and rebounder, came out for warmups but went home with food poisoning.

“He got sick right before the game,” Fitch said “He was taped and everything so we penciled him in the starting lineup and figured after he threw up he’d be able to go out and see if he’d gotten rid of whatever was bothering him. But his comment was that he just wanted to lay down and go to sleep.”

Outlaw started in place of Vaught, who had 19 points in the first half of Saturday night’s 86-80 loss at Golden State.

Outlaw had 10 points, five blocks and four rebounds, but Clipper forward Rodney Rogers got into early foul trouble and had only three points and two rebounds in 23 minutes before fouling out.

Center Brian Williams, who didn’t make a field goal and scored only three points against the Warriors, made nine of 14 shots and had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Clippers (17-37) lost their fourth consecutive game.