Murray Finds Gainful Employment

Clipper forward Lamond Murray sat alone in a corner of the locker room after Coach Bill Fitch had held him out of Thursday’s victory at Orlando, staring into space.

“Don’t ask me, ask [Fitch],” Murray said when asked why he didn’t play.

The benching came one game after Murray had missed four of five shots and scored only two points in his first start of the season in Tuesday night’s loss at Miami.

But Fitch decided to employ Murray after the Clippers fell behind the Boston Celtics by 12 points in the second quarter of Friday night’s game at the FleetCenter, and Murray responded with his best game of the season, getting 24 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot in 16 minutes as the Clippers won their second consecutive game, 117-102.

The Clippers (33-41) have a four-game lead over the Sacramento Kings for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth with eight games remaining. Does Fitch consult his astrologer or call a psychic hotline to determine who’ll play?

“I thought he was the guy for the spot,” Fitch said. “That’s the way I’ve been doing it all year. We just pick one out of a hat.

“He fit the defensive assignment and he fit the hurry-up offense that we needed. Once he got it going, his confidence was there. I saw him try some things tonight that probably would have got him in trouble, but he had it going.

“When you get a guy going like that, you try and take advantage of it. He did a great job, especially from the standpoint that he didn’t play any minutes last night.

“But that’s the way our team is made up. You’ve got to be a good Boy Scout. You’ve got to be prepared, because when your name is called you’ve got to be ready.”

The seventh player selected in the 1994 NBA draft, Murray was the Clippers’ second-leading scorer as a rookie, averaging 14.1 points. But Murray has been reduced to a role player this season, and Fitch has held him out of eight games.

“Murray had confidence tonight and that’s all that counted,” Fitch said. “There’s a lot of guys in this league that don’t get to play every night, but when they get a shot like that sometimes it’s the beginning of something big.

“It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. He got 24 points in 16 minutes. That’s superstar stuff.”

With the score tied, 84-84, at the start of the final quarter after guard Brent Barry had made a running three-point shot at the end of the third, Murray took over, making six of nine shots. He had 12 points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter when the Clippers outscored the Celtics, 33-18.

“I was having a good time out there,” said Murray, who made 11 of 15 shots, including a pair of game-ending dunks.

When was the last time he had so much fun?

“It’s been a while. I can’t remember,” he said. “My confidence is always up. I’ve never lost confidence in my game.”

Entering the game with 3:49 remaining in the second quarter, Murray made his first four shots and scored the Clippers’ final 12 points, making five of six shots and getting two rebounds and one steal. The Clippers outscored the Celtics, 36-22, in the quarter and led at the half, 54-52.

“[Murray] had a great game,” said Clipper swingman Loy Vaught, who had 12 points and five rebounds. “He gave us a huge lift coming in off the bench. It was vintage Lamond.”

The Clippers also did a good job of checking Celtic rookie forward Antoine Walker, who had 36 points, one below his season high, limiting him to two points in the fourth quarter as Boston (13-62) lost its eighth consecutive game.

“We tried to get [Walker] in the draft,” Fitch said. “We love him. He’s a great player.”

The Clipper reserves, who have played a key role in the team’s best season in four years, outscored their Boston counterparts, 63-5.

Guard Terry Dehere had 17 points, seven assists and two steals in 24 minutes; Barry had eight points and six assists in 24 minutes; and center Lorenzen Wright made all five shots he attempted and had 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in 26 minutes.

“The bench came in full of energy and picked us up,” Murray said. “The starters looked tired from last night, but the bench was able to come in and pick it up.”