Overtime Is OK for Clippers

Brent Barry, who won the NBA slam dunk contest last year, may want to enter the three-point shooting contest this season.

Barry, who missed 19 of 28 three-point shots in his first nine games, made a desperation three-point basket from the right corner with 1.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and the Clippers went on to defeat the Phoenix Suns, 122-121, Monday night before an announced 12,049 at the Pond of Anaheim.

Malik Sealy scored a season-high 28 points as the Clippers overcame a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit and Terry Dehere, who had 18 points, scored five points in the final 46 seconds of overtime as the Clippers won their third consecutive game.

“As soon as I let that ball go, I knew it was going in,” said Barry, who made two of three three-point shots and had 12 points. “It felt good. It was one of those shots where you say to yourself that maybe you’ve turned the corner and that’s something I’ve been wanting to feel for quite a while.

“Unfortunately, I hadn’t been making a lot of threes the last couple of weeks, but I needed to make that one. For us to fight back and scrap and fight, it was nice to know that we can come back and win a game like that.” Trailing, 113-110, after Kevin Johnson made two free throws with 3.3 seconds left, Barry sent the game into overtime tied at 113-113.

Eric Piatkowski, who hadn’t played in 10 games, helped Barry get open by setting a screen on Sun guard Kevin Johnson.

“I took K.J. out,” Piatkowski said. “I think [Nebraska football Coach] Tom Osborne would have been proud of me if he’d seen it. I wasn’t supposed to take him out like that, I was supposed to set a pick, but it worked out good because Brent got the open shot and he hit it.”

Johnson said the Suns got mixed up on defense.

“We were supposed to switch everything,” Johnson said. “I thought we were switching out and we didn’t and Barry hit the wide open three.”

Sun Coach Danny Ainge said Barry’s shot was the key to the game.

“Barry’s three-pointer with three seconds left was the killer,” Ainge said. “I don’t know how he got so wide open, but I give him credit, he hit a big shot.”

The Suns had a chance to win it in regulation, but Rex Chapman missed a shot at the buzzer.

The Clippers scored the first four points of their fourth overtime game of the season as Rodney Rogers, who had 19 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Charles Outlaw, who had a season-high 15 points, scored on drives.

However, Robert Horry made three of six free throws and Danny Manning, who had 24 points against his old team, made a layup with 58.9 seconds left to give the Suns a 118-117 lead.

But the Clippers didn’t fold as Dehere made a layup and a free throw with 46.2 seconds remaining to give them a 120-118 lead.

After Manning missed a shot, Dehere made two free throws with 20.9 seconds left to give the Clippers a four-point lead, but Chapman made a three-point shot with 14.8 seconds left to make it 122-121.

The Clippers had a chance to put the game away, but Rogers missed two free throws with 13.3 seconds left. However, Cassell missed a jumper as time expired.