It’s Closer but No Better for Clippers

It’s as if the basketball gods are determined not to let the Clippers win a game this season.

After badly needing a take-charge game from more than one of their main players, the Clippers finally received that Tuesday night from Lamond Murray and Maurice Taylor but it still was not good enough as the Golden State Warriors made the plays down the stretch for a 94-89 victory before a crowd of 8,688 at the Sports Arena.

Murray made 12 of 22 shots and had a season-high 30 points, and Taylor had 23 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, but the Clippers missed some key shots and couldn’t defend the Warriors’ pick-and-roll in losing a late lead to remain the league’s only winless team at 0-9.

Golden State guard Bimbo Coles came off the bench to score 15 points, including two key jumpers and four free throws in the fourth quarter, and John Starks had a team-high 18 points and made a last-second steal that sealed the Clippers’ fate.

“They took advantage of some things . . . they certainly executed and we didn’t,” said Clipper Coach Chris Ford, who received a better effort from his team following Monday’s lackluster loss at Utah.

With owner Donald Sterling in attendance, along with comedian Billy Crystal making his first appearance at the Sports Arena this season, the Clippers appeared headed for their first victory when they held an 87-83 lead with two minutes remaining.

The Clippers still had a chance after Coles and Starks scored to put the Warriors ahead, 89-87, with 56.4 seconds left. Murray, however, had an open jumper from just inside the three-point line go in and out.

“No doubt [I thought it was going in], it was on line and everything, it felt good but it hit the back of the rim and went out,” Murray said. “Sometimes those are the hardest shots. . . . I had a wide open look. I took my time, shot it well.”

The Clippers fell behind 9-0 and didn’t score their first basket until nearly four minutes into the game. The Clippers missed their first six shots before getting a basket from Taylor.

The Clippers missed nine of their first 10 attempts from the floorto fall behind 11-2 before going on a 12-0 run in which Taylor did most of the work. The Clippers kept up their strong play and took a 25-22 lead into the second quarter with Taylor getting nine points and seven rebounds.

The second quarter began like the first for the Clippers as their small lead quickly turned into a 40-33 deficit with the Warriors’ Donyell Marshall coming off the bench to score nine of his 13 points.

James Robinson scored four points to help bring the Clippers within oneat 40-39 but Golden State went on an 11-4 run to take a 51-43 lead at halftime.

Murray’s 14 points in the third quarter helped the Clippers take a 68-66 lead. The Clippers could have led by more going into the fourth quarter but after making six of six free throws in the first half, they missed three of eight attempts in the third quarter.

Murray, who also had eight rebounds, kept up his scoring and helped the Clippers stay ahead for most of the final quarter.

Defensively, the Clippers fell apart when it came to stopping Starks from driving and finding Coles for open shots. The Warriors used this attack almost exclusively and the Clippers looked helpless as Golden State outscored them 11-2 over the final two minutes.

“The shots we were taking [at the end] didn’t fall and that was pretty much it,” said Sherman Douglas, who played the entire fourth quarter in place of Darrick Martin. “We kind of broke down defensively a couple of times . . . that wasn’t the rotation we wanted and we were forced to go to something else.”