Clippers Aren’t Exactly the Life of Block Party

Sacramento King rookie center Michael Stewart had a ball against the Clippers.

Stewart, a former King ballboy, blocked an NBA season-high nine shots and the Kings ended the Clippers’ season-best three-game winning streak, 105-89, Tuesday night before 13,136 at Arco Arena.

“Working hard, blocking shots, that’s what I do,” Stewart said after the Kings defeated the Clippers for the first time in three games this season.

Stewart, who blocked one shot in the first half, had a team-record seven in the third quarter.

“If you take away those blocks Stewart had, that’s another 14 of 16 points we could have had,” said Clipper forward Rodney Rogers, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Kings had a franchise-record 17 blocked shots.

“We gave them an awful lot of easy shots to block,” forward Lorenzen Wright said. “We were shooting when we could have passed it.”

Clipper forward Lamond Murray, who played with Stewart at California, said Stewart has developed into one of the league’s best shot-blockers.

“He was a freshman when I was there, but he’s become a good player,” Murray said. “He knows his role.”

The Clippers, without Wright (knee) for the second consecutive game, looked like two different teams.

“I could have gone tonight, but I didn’t want to hurt anything that’s healed,” said Wright, who has averaged 16.4 rebounds in the last eight games.

The Clippers, who scored 51 points in the first half, scored 38 and shot 23.2% in the second half. After missing 20 of 27 shots in the third quarter, the Clippers missed 23 of 29 shots in the final quarter.

“We had guys out on the floor in the second half either playing out of position or playing tired,” Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said. “We got killed on the boards, which allowed Stewart to cheat. He didn’t block all of those shots on the guys he was guarding.

“He took advantage of his opportunities real well. He’s got great legs and I like the way he competes.”

After scoring 16 points in the third quarter, the Clippers scored 22 in the fourth.

Forward Maurice Taylor missed 10 of 12 shots.

“It was like a nightmare,” said Taylor, who had five points and five rebounds. “I was missing shots I normally make.”

Murray, who averaged 18.5 points and shot 57.5% in his last two games, had 17 points and eight rebounds. Murray had only four points in the second half after getting into foul trouble.

Fitch, who has maintained his cool throughout the season, blew up in the third quarter after Murray was called for his fourth foul with 9:25 remaining.

Fitch walked onto the court to protest the call, taking the basketball in his hands. He was fortunate he didn’t get a technical.

After Taylor drew his fourth foul with 5:52 remaining in the quarter, Fitch was forced to employ three guards, playing Eric Piatkowski, Brent Barry and Darrick Martin.

Murray had 13 points in the first half as the Clippers took a 51-50 halftime lead.

Guard Pooh Richardson made a jump shot with five-tenths of a second left in the second quarter to give the Clippers the lead.

Barry scored nine of his 12 first-half points in the second quarter as the Clippers outscored the Kings, 30-24.

The Clippers shot 73% in the first nine minutes of the second quarter to take a 44-41 lead.