Olowokandi Gets Time Over Wright

Lorenzen Wright was on a roll. After grabbing 43 rebounds in his previous two games, Wright pulled down five more in the first quarter of the Clippers’ 108-89 loss to Seattle on Sunday night.

But then something happened. Wright found himself on the bench for the entire second and third quarters while Coach Chris Ford either went with rookie center Michael Olowokandi or a small lineup with Rodney Rogers playing the post.

“I was surprised [not to get in], but at halftime [Ford] told me that he wanted to match up Michael with Olden Polynice,” said Wright, who finished with seven rebounds and three points in 18 minutes. “Time just went by and I didn’t make it back in.”

Ford said that he kept Wright on the bench because Olowokandi was playing his best game since being activated off the injured list four games ago. Olowokandi had 12 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes.

“Lorenzen has been playing well, but this was the first time Michael got on a roll,” Ford said.

“I wanted to give the rookie extended minutes because he was playing well.”

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Maurice Taylor, the Clippers’ leading scorer, also had an off night after picking up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game. Taylor finished with 11 points and four rebounds.

“I was testing to see what was up, whether [the officials were going to allow physical play] and they called two quick ones,” Taylor said. “I think that really was it as far as my confidence goes. When I came back in the second quarter I was trying too hard not to get a foul.”