Clippers’ Latest Defeat Smarts More Than Most

Guard Brent Barry surveyed the Clipper bench at the end of the first half of Sunday’s 99-77 loss to the Boston Celtics and wondered, “Where is everybody?”

In the FleetCenter’s X-ray room.

Guard Darrick Martin walked off the court 1:17 into the second quarter with a shin injury.

Forward Rodney Rogers left with 3:49 to go in the quarter after re-injuring his bruised right leg.

Forward Lamond Murray left with 1:15 to play in the quarter with a sprained right wrist.

Murray, who had averaged 16 points and 6.1 rebounds in 14 starts, sat out the second half with an ice bag attached to his wrist as the Clippers lost for the 22nd time in 27 games.

Barry, the Clippers’ leading scorer, missed the final seven minutes of the game after spraining his right big toe.

“It’s hard to believe that we’ve got another game to play before we get home,” Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said. “We look like a MASH unit.”

Although X-rays didn’t reveal a fracture, Murray’s knuckles were so swollen that he had difficulty lacing his shoes after the game. He plans to undergo more tests today and is questionable for Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls.

“If I can’t play, I can’t play,” Murray said. “If I’ve got to rest it, I’ve got to rest it and let it heal.

“I’m not going to try and rush up out of here and do anything that I can’t do.” Murray, who was injured when he fell after taking a charge, went into the game shooting a career-best 50.8%. However, he missed five of seven shots and had nine points against the Celtics.

Barry, who missed eight of 12 shots and had 10 points, is unsure if he’ll be able to play against the Bulls. Barry, who scored only one point in the second half and missed all four of his shots, said he injured his toe in the third quarter.

“Hopefully we can make it out of this road trip alive,” Barry said of the Clippers, who have lost 12 of 14 road games.

Martin was ineffective after he rolled his right ankle at the start of the game. Martin, who left the game after being kicked in the shin, scored four points in 16 minutes in the second half.

“I didn’t have my normal explosion the whole game,” said Martin, who had five points, two rebounds, three assists and four turnovers in 29 minutes. “It hurt the whole game.”

Rogers, whose leg was still sore, played all but two minutes of the second half, getting 14 of his 20 points after halftime.

Rogers, who threw a poor inbounds pass to set up the go-ahead basket with 11.3 seconds remaining in Saturday night’s one-point loss at Minnesota, had 11 points in the third quarter as the Clippers took a three-point lead.

The Clippers, who have already lost forward Loy Vaught for the season because of a back injury, were outscored, 33-13, in the fourth quarter.

“We made bad decisions,” Fitch said. “They kept playing their game and we didn’t. The fourth quarter was their ballgame.”

The Clippers shot only 21.1% in the fourth quarter, making four of 19 shots.

They couldn’t handle the Celtic press and had eight turnovers, which the Celtics converted into 12 points.

“It wasn’t the press,” Rogers said. “We can break the press. We just kept hurting ourselves.”

And they were still hurting as they boarded their bus.