Clipper Reserves Stage Big Rally, Then Lose

Disgusted after his starters displayed as much energy as a cadaver in the first 30 minutes of Thursday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Clipper Coach Bill Fitch benched his entire starting unit six minutes into the third quarter after they fell behind by 16 points.

With his team trailing, 56-40, Fitch replaced forwards Loy Vaught and Rodney Rogers, center Brian Williams and guards Pooh Richardson and Malik Sealy, sending in Eric Piatkowski, Terry Dehere, Brent Barry, Charles Outlaw and Stanley Roberts.

“I was shocked,” Piatkowski said. “He just went down the bench and said, ‘OK, one, two, three, four, five, go get ‘em all.’ ”

The Clipper reserves almost shocked the Cavaliers but lost, 83-81, after Cavalier guard Terrell Brandon made a jumper from the corner over reserve center Antonio Harvey with 2.3 seconds left before an announced 11,124 at the Sports Arena.

“Terrell Brandon made a great play,” Fitch said. “That’s why he’s an all-star. We played it right and made it as difficult as we could. I thought the shot was off, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

With the Clippers trailing, 81-78, after Chris Mills made two free throws with 17.1 seconds left, Barry, who had 20 points, made a three-point shot with 11.1 seconds left to tie it.

“I don’t think any fan who was here tonight can ask for their money back,” Fitch said. “And for those people who turned the game off on TV when we were down 15, good.”

The Clippers didn’t have any timeouts remaining after Brandon’s basket, and Barry’s desperation shot from the backcourt hit the shot clock.

“Those go in once in a lifetime and tonight wasn’t my lifetime,” Barry said. “We didn’t have time to set up anything and it was just a desperation hurl.”

The Clipper reserves outscored the Cavaliers, 25-11, at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth to cut the lead to 67-65 on a dunk by Roberts with 6:37 remaining.

Fitch decided to replace his starters because they lacked energy. The Clipper reserves outplayed the starting five, outscoring them, 55-26.

“You can’t print what I think,” Williams said when asked what he thought of Fitch’s move to bench the starters. “They did a great job. You have to separate what I think about taking all five of us out and how those guys came in and played. They made mistakes like we made mistakes, but they picked it up and really played great. They almost pulled it off.”

After Bobby Phills made two free throws with 36.4 seconds left to give the Cavaliers a 77-75 lead, the Clippers called time to set up a play, but Dehere lost the ball on a drive when the ball slipped out of his hands. Phills was fouled by Piatkowski to stop the clock with 21.8 seconds left and made two more free throws to give the Cavaliers a four-point lead.

However, Barry drove for a layup and made a free throw after he was fouled by Phills to cut it to 79-78 with 17.8 seconds left.

The Cavaliers held the Clippers to a season-low 31 points in the first half and led by eight points at intermission. The Cavaliers lead the league in fewest points allowed (88.8) and have held opponents under 100 points a league-high 57 times.

“They’re one of the top five teams in the East,” Fitch said. “I don’t know if they’re a surprise because they played well last year under similar circumstances. They don’t do anything super flashy, they just do it.”