Win to Clip and Save

Players hugged. Coaches smiled. Fans clapped and actually didn’t leave the Sports Arena until the final buzzer.

In a scene that would rival any championship ending, the Clippers finally celebrated a victory Thursday night after losing their first 17 games to tie the NBA record for worst start.

And they can thank the Sacramento Kings for the special night.

Led by Lorenzen Wright’s 25 rebounds and Darrick Martin’s 18 points and 11 assists, the Clippers defeated Sacramento, 106-92, in front of an announced crowd of 7,884.

“This is definitely a relief because any time you can avoid going in the record book in a negative fashion it has to be,” said Martin, who made a three-point basket to help stop a late fourth-quarter rally by the Kings.

“Looking at our upcoming schedule, we knew [Thursday] was going to be the one we really had to get. Although we knew it was going to be hard, playing our third game in as many nights. . . . We knew that this was the game to point to.”

Whoever said the Clippers will not win a game this season must not have known the team’s history against the Kings. Last season, the Clippers won three of four games against Sacramento, including their last win before Thursday--an 83-77 victory on the last day of the season.

Fresh off consecutive losses to the Lakers, in which they played their more-celebrated city rivals tough for seven quarters, the Clippers took the floor confident that they could beat the Kings.

Tired of being a running joke as the NBA’s only winless team, the Clippers walked almost with a swagger to start the game. They did things as if they had used the first five weeks of the season as practice games.

Not only did they play their most complete game, but they played smart, something that had not been associated with the Clippers during their losing streak:

* Noticing that Lamond Murray had a size advantage in the post over Sacramento’s Vernon Maxwell, the Clippers quickly got the ball inside for a Murray basket.

* The Kings’ Vlade Divac tried to power over Wright, who stood his ground and not only blocked his shot but also grabbed the ball.

* Tyrone Nesby drove the lane and instead of forcing a shot, he made a no-look pass to Wright, who finished with a two-handed dunk.

* With the ball loose on the floor, Rodney Rogers didn’t just dive for it but outfought two Kings to keep a Clipper possession alive.

“Our guys have faced a lot of adversity, but the streak has ended and hopefully it’s the beginning of something new for us,” said Chris Ford, who won his first game as Clipper coach after losing 19 in a row, including two exhibitions to the Lakers.

“We are all very happy right now.”

Seven Clippers scored in double figures and they had 22 assists to only 13 turnovers.

Thanks to Wright, they outrebounded Sacramento, 58-35.

“I didn’t want anyone else to get a rebound,” said Wright, who had 13 rebounds in the first quarter and 20 at halftime. “[The rebounds] kept falling my way. I was getting them.”

Wright played as if he took every Clipper joke over the last month personally. If not for foul trouble, he would have easily topped the team record of 30 in a game.

“I was very, very tired after going against Shaq [the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal] in back-to-back games,” said Wright, who also had 12 points on five-of-nine shooting. “But I knew I had to keep playing hard. . . . It’s just great to get the monkey off our backs.”

Another key for the Clippers was that Martin outplayed King rookie point guard Jason Williams, who made only four of 14 shots and finished with nine points.

Williams may be a more flashy player, but Martin had his number Thursday. With Sherman Douglas on the injured list with a groin injury, Martin made the most of his added playing time. He was on the floor for 41 minutes and turned the ball over once.

“They played the best out there because we brought out the best in them,” the Kings’ Chris Webber said. “We left our heads in Sacramento, they got the win and that’s all that matters.”

By The Number

CLIPPER AVERAGES DURING STREAK

FG%

.410

Opponent FG%

. 476

Rebounds

38.2

Opp. rebounds

45.1

Points

88.3

Opp. points

101.7

CLIPPERS

ON THURSDAY

FG%

.461

Opponent FG%

.429

Rebounds

58

Opp. rebounds

35

Points

106

Opp. points

92