Club Reeling From Raptors’ Shot

A day after an emotionally draining experience in Toronto, which included a sucker punch thrown by Charles Oakley that hit point guard Jeff McInnis in the face and an overtime loss to the Raptors, the Clippers held a business-like practice Saturday at the University of Massachusetts.

Coach Alvin Gentry said the Clippers’ spirits were down after Friday’s loss, but he was optimistic the experience will help the team grow.

“Hopefully, what they got from that is the game is never over,” Gentry said. “You have to stay focused and play until the final buzzer.”

McInnis said the Oakley incident will not affect him and he refused to discuss the matter. According to Gentry, the Clippers have other pressing issues.

“We have to do a better job of listening on the bench and following instructions on what we have to do,” he said. “There are some things that we talked about . . . that we didn’t take from the huddle to the court. That has to be something we do all of the time. Not just at the end of games.”

Gentry was referring to how the Clippers blew a nine-point lead in the final 1:22 of regulation against the Raptors. Whether it was a failure to call a timeout or commit a deliberate foul to prevent a three-point attempt, the Clippers came up short.

“Now that we’ve been burned by that, maybe that has gotten everyone’s attention to stay focused,” Gentry said.

TODAY

at Boston, 9:30 a.m. PST

Fox Sports Net 2

* Site--FleetCenter.

* Radio--KXTA (1150).

* Records--Clippers 5-12, Celtics 7-9.

* Record vs. Celtics (1999-2000)--1-1.

* Update--Boston has lost two games in a row, including a four-point home defeat to Minnesota Friday. Paul Pierce leads the Celtics in scoring at 23.3 points a game, and Antoine Walker is averaging 21.3. This will be the second of a six-game trip for the Clippers, who are 1-5 on the road.