Clippers’ Fun Begins With Jazz

Although the Clippers have already been eliminated from the NBA playoffs, Pooh Richardson said he wants to have fun in the final week of the season.

“When you first started playing this game it was for fun, and if you can’t go out and look at these games and say, ‘We’re going to go out and have some fun and do the best that we can do,’ then you don’t need to go out there,” Richardson said.

Richardson had a lot of fun Saturday night, scoring 18 points as the Clippers beat the Utah Jazz, 91-81, before an announced sellout of 16,021 at the Sports Arena.

Terry Dehere added 17 points, including 10 in the final quarter, as the Clippers beat the Jazz for the first time in four games.

Meanwhile, Clipper guard Brent Barry denied a report in a national magazine that a rift has developed with Coach Bill Fitch, who reportedly pushed him at a shoot-around before a game in Toronto earlier this month because Barry’s ego became inflated after he won the NBA slam dunk title last February in San Antonio.

“We had a shoot-around in Toronto and Coach got a little upset with the way I was acting,” said Barry, who denied that Fitch pushed him. “He took care of his business, he got my attention. That’s all that needs to be said.”

“If anything, it woke me up, knowing that I was upsetting him in some way and I knew I had to change. It’s unfortunate that some people stoop to that level in journalism, but I’ve never publicly talked about my relationship with Coach Fitch being negative in any sort of way.”

Fitch said the Clippers aren’t in turmoil.

“No it’s not in turmoil,” he said. “Nothing has changed. We have certain things we do as Clippers and we’re going to maintain doing ‘em. During the course of the season I holler at guys, that’s why we don’t let [the media] come to practice.”

Leave it to Brian Williams to put it in perspective.

“It’s right around tax time and guys are all [angry] because they have to write such a big check, so there’s been more animosity,” Williams joked.

*

Clipper Notes

Center Stanley Roberts didn’t dress for the game because of a sprained ankle. Antonio Harvey started in place of Roberts. . . . It was Utah’s lowest point total of the season.