In Overtime, Clippers Take One for the Road

The hecklers were out in full voice after the Clippers fell behind the Vancouver Grizzlies, the NBA’s worst team, by 10 points in the third quarter.

“You guys can kiss the playoffs goodbye,” a fan screamed after the Clippers played down to the level of the Grizzlies, who had lost 16 of their last 17 games.

But the Clippers came out of hibernation to win for the fourth time in five games, defeating the Grizzlies, 110-104, in overtime before 5,528 Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.

Guard Malik Sealy, who missed 12 of his first 17 shots, made a three-point basket with 14 seconds left to send the game into overtime at 101-101.

It was the second overtime game the Clippers have played against Vancouver this season.

“The play was designed to try to get some penetration and get a ‘three,’ ” said Sealy, who made four three-pointers. “I remembered the three they had just hit and I thought, ‘I want to take this into my own hands.’ ”

The Grizzlies had a chance to win it in regulation, but Anthony Peeler, who had 30 points, missed a three-point shot from the left side with three seconds left.

The Clippers scored the first seven points in overtime when Terry Dehere made a jump shot, Sealy--who had 22 points--made a three-pointer and Lorenzen Wright made a tipin for a 108-101 lead.

The Grizzlies missed seven of their eight shots in overtime.

With the scored tied, 98-98, Peeler, who made four three-point shots, made a three-pointer with 24.2 seconds to play in regulation to give the Grizzlies a three-point lead.

The Clippers called timeout to set up a play, inserting Eric Piatkowski, who had played only five first-half minutes.

But Piatkowski was a decoy. The Clippers went to Sealy.

Forward Rodney Rogers scored eight of his 23 points in the final quarter as the Clippers overcame a 94-85 deficit in the last 5:01.

“Rodney was Mr. Steady,” Coach Bill Fitch said. “He did a great job down in the low box, and he did a good job defensively.”

The Clippers probably wouldn’t have beaten the Grizzlies without Rogers.

With the Clippers trailing, 94-88, Rogers scored five consecutive points. After making two free throws with 2:41 to play, he made a three-point shot six seconds later, after Bo Outlaw and Terry Dehere forced Greg Anthony into a turnover on the inbounds play under the Clipper basket.

Wright also played the best game of his rookie season, scoring a season-high 24 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as the Clippers swept the four-game season series from the Grizzlies.

“I was just in the right places at the right time,” said Wright, who made 10 of 15 shots. “My teammates were spotting me. The only thing I had to do was go up with the ball.

“I never had a doubt in my mind that we were going to [win]. I don’t think we were playing bad. They were just hitting a lot of big shots.”

The Clippers (31-37), who depart today on a seven-game, 12-day trip, are in seventh place in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns.

The Clippers will visit Atlanta, Detroit, Indiana, Miami, Orlando, Boston and New Jersey on their longest trip of the season.

“It’s very important, but we’ve just got to take it one game at a time,” said guard Darrick Martin, who had 18 points and six assists.

Sealy, who made nine of his first 10 shots and scored a season-high 30 points in his last game, didn’t get off to a good start against the Grizzlies, missing his first six shots.

Martin passed up an uncontested fastbreak layup to set up Sealy, but he missed a layup.

Martin came right back to him on the Clippers’ next possession to build his confidence and Sealy made a layup.

But he missed seven of nine shots in the first half.