Clippers Tease Before Another Late Collapse

Clipper guard Brent Barry had double vision Sunday night against the Seattle SuperSonics.

Everywhere Barry looked, he saw two of SuperSonic guard Gary Payton.

“Coming in and playing against Gary is a new experience,” Barry said. “He chases you all over the court. It’s like there’s two of them.”

Payton had 21 points and 14 assists as the SuperSonics defeated the Clippers, 107-101, Sunday night before 17,017 at KeyArena.

Payton, runner-up in the balloting for NBA defensive player of the year last season, helped the SuperSonics smother the Clippers in the final quarter.

The Clippers, who led by as many as nine points in the third quarter, didn’t make a field goal for the first 7:11 of the final quarter and were outscored, 14-6, in the first 6:53 of the quarter.

It was the third time in the last six games that the Clippers have shut down in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers, losers of 19 of 23 games, were held scoreless for an eight-minute-40-second stretch in the fourth quarter of an 83-79 loss to the injury-depleted Orlando Magic on Dec. 6. They scored only 18 points and missed nine of 14 shots in the fourth quarter of a 100-92 loss to the Denver Nuggets last Sunday at Denver.

The Clippers, who had 24 turnovers, committed 11 in the fourth quarter, which the SuperSonics converted into 12 points.

The Clippers, who had three players [Lamond Murray, Lorenzen Wright, Darrick Martin] out because of four fouls, were outscored, 24-15, in the final quarter.

“They caught us at the start of the fourth quarter with three guys sitting with four fouls,” Fitch said. “They did a god job defensively.”

Payton, who ranks among the NBA leaders in steals, had six points, two assists and two steals in the final quarter as the SuperSonics recorded their 10th consecutive home victory after a home-opening loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

The SuperSonics, who have the NBA’s best record, play the Clippers again Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.

“We had an opportunity to make a statement and get a psychological edge,” SuperSonic Coach George Karl said. “Tuesday night will be a battle.”

Murray, who had seven of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, made two of four shots, including a three-point basket with 1:15 remaining, as the Clippers outscored the SuperSonics, 9-5, in a 2:24 span.

But SuperSonic guard Hersey Hawkins made two free throws with 4.9 seconds left to seal it.

Barry who missed seven of eight shots in Friday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks in his first start after missing five games because of a bruised left calf, scored 11 of his 18 points in the third quarter as the Clippers, who trailed, 60-51, at halftime, outscored the SuperSonics, 13-2, in the first five minutes of the quarter to take the lead.

But Barry played six scoreless minutes in the final quarter.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the first quarter or the second quarter, you can’t turn over the basketball,” Barry said. “But the fourth quarter is a bad time to play bad basketball.”

Point guard Pooh Richardson, benched for the last three quarters of the loss to the Hawks, was held out of the starting lineup for the first time in 12 games.

Guard Eric Piatkowski, who averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in six starts while Barry was injured, started in place of Richardson and had 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.

However, Piatkowski, who made seven of 12 shots, including three three-point shots, had four turnovers, including three in the final quarter. Barry had five turnovers, including two in the final quarter.

“I thought they really buckled down in the fourth quarter,” Piatkowski said. “They stepped it up and hit some big shots and that was all it took.

“We had a lot of turnovers in the fourth quarter. I had a couple of big ones when I was trying to get the ball into the middle.”