Clippers Nearing Record Depths

Like an out-of-control truck rolling downhill, the Clippers’ losing streak reached 15 Saturday night with a 114-85 defeat against the San Antonio Spurs.

And with back-to-back games against the Lakers this week, there’s no emergency brake in sight.

The Clippers can only hope that some team is charitable enough to help them out with a deal before the trading deadline Thursday.

“Is it necessary? Yeah, it’s necessary,” Clipper forward Maurice Taylor said about the team making a deal this week. “I’m not saying that I don’t like the guys on this team or that I don’t get along with guys on the team, because I do. But something has to change. You have to make some changes when you start off the way we have started. You can’t just sit and let everything remain the same and just look like you know what you’re doing.

“We used to be in ballgames, but now teams are kicking our butts.”

In losing to the Spurs before 18,394 at the Alamodome, the Clippers tied their worst lost of the season and gave one of their poorest efforts. San Antonio, which rested its starters the entire fourth quarter, took advantage of numerous Clipper airballs for easy baskets and came within a point of the most given up by the Clippers this season.

Led by Tim Duncan’s 27 points and seven rebounds, and David Robinson’s 18 and 10, the Spurs shot 75% in the first quarter and 56.9% for the game. To complement its torrid shooting, San Antonio also dominated inside in outrebounding the Clippers, 49-29.

The only area that the Clippers can say they held an edge was free-throw percentage. They made 13 of 14, but their problem was San Antonio more than doubled the Clippers’ attempts in making 25 of 33.

“Tonight was not pretty basketball,” Clipper Coach Chris Ford said. “Our resistance tonight was not good. . . . We had some good shot opportunities early, but then we fell back into the pattern of taking bad shots. At this level guys need to know the difference between good and bad shots. If you’re double-teamed or trying to shoot over the twin towers [Duncan and Robinson], chances are it’s not a good shot opportunity.”

How bad was the Clippers’ 15th defeat? Just look at the starts of the first and second halves.

San Antonio, which is on a season-best three-game winning streak after struggling to open the season, made its first six shots of the game. If the Spurs’ baskets didn’t come on a dunk or a layup, they came on open perimeter shots without a Clipper within touching distance.

The Clippers trailed at the half, 64-47 (and they were that close only because of 19 combined points from Eric Piatkowski and Tyrone Nesby), but they really did themselves in at the start of the third quarter.

Not only did the Clippers get outscored, 8-2, in the opening two minutes of the quarter, but two of their first four shots were airballs and one was blocked. Not the sort of way to start a comeback.

“We started missing a lot of shots and making some defensive mistakes. . . . boom, boom, boom and we’re down by 20,” Piatkowski said. “It’s the same old story. We can compete with these teams but we just need to put together longer streaks of good play. Forty minutes, not 20.”

Ford said that he plans to meet with Vice President Elgin Baylor this week in attempt to make some personnel changes. Ford has already tried everything from making lineup switches to simplifying assignments. So far, nothing has worked.

“I have some ideas and hopefully we can accomplish something,” said Ford, who has yet to experience a win in his two months as Clipper coach, including two exhibition losses to the Lakers.

“It’s always tough with the trading deadline creeping near. I would doubt if we’re going to be able to make any blockbuster trades. But we have to discuss what the possibilities are that are available to see if they would help make us better.”