With Too Few Highlights, Clippers Are Left Reeling

It was Clipper basketball at its best. Rookie Lamar Odom grabbed a defensive rebound and threw an outlet pass to Maurice Taylor, who then fed Derek Anderson for a fastbreak two-handed dunk.

The highlight play happened late in the first quarter and gave the Clippers an 11-point lead over Vancouver. But in true franchise form, the Clippers’ strong play and early lead did not last.

Their collapse began when Taylor left the game because of a foot injury near the end of the first quarter. Without him, the Clippers were overcome by the Grizzlies, 109-89, Sunday night before 12,774 at General Motors Place.

The margin of victory was the largest in the four-year history of the Grizzlies, who improved to 3-3. With the loss, the Clippers dropped to 1-5 and will probably have to play the remaining four games on their current trip without Taylor, who has a sprained ligament in his left foot.

“I’ve never went through anything like this, where a guy gets hurt and no one steps up,” Anderson said of the Clippers’ turnaround, in which they were outscored a combined 60-40 in the second and third quarters.

What makes the loss so painful for the Clippers is that they were coming off an inspired five-point loss to San Antonio last Wednesday.

But against the Grizzlies, they folded when things got tough.

“I don’t even know how to explain this. This is the worst game I’ve ever been involved in,” said Odom, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds. “It’s too bad this had to come when I made it to the league.”

Defense again was a problem for the Clippers. Vancouver, which shot 46.1% from the floor over its first five games, shot a sizzling 57%, with many baskets coming on uncontested layups or wide open jump shots.

“We were so late getting to the last guy,” said Anderson, who had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. “The first two passes we covered really quick but the last guy would be open.”

Vancouver forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim destroyed his favorite opponent again. In 36 minutes, Abdur-Rahim had 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

He certainly had help as Michael Dickerson had a game-high 23 points, including three three-point baskets, and Othella Harrington took advantage of Taylor’s absence to log 20 points and nine rebounds.

Once the Grizzlies took the lead in the second quarter, not only did their confidence grow but the Clippers began to force bad shots and too often failed to get back on defense. It’s one thing to lose to the defending NBA champion Spurs, but it’s another to get blown out by the Grizzlies.

Taylor said mental mistakes are the biggest problem for the Clippers.

“Right now, we think we are better than what we are,” said Taylor, who is expected to miss about a week. “Because we finally got some guys together who can play and we played against some tough teams early and came up short, we think we are better than we are.”

The Clippers outrebounded Vancouver, 41-37, but other than a solid 14-point, 11-rebound effort from Michael Olowokandi, there were not any positives in Sunday’s loss.

“It’s never easy,” Clipper Coach Chris Ford said. “Professional sports are difficult and there’s always obstacles thrown in your way. We’re the youngest team in the league and all that, but this injury certainly won’t help us.”