Clippers Can’t Take the Heat

Now if the Clippers can only get their overtime act together.

For the fourth time this season the Clippers needed extra time to decide a game, and for the fourth time they fell short. Wednesday night, it was the Miami Heat who outlasted the Clippers, 94-88, before 16,468 at Staples Center.

After trailing by 14 points late in the third quarter, the Clippers rallied to send the game into overtime on a last-second, three-point basket by Lamar Odom, who had a strong second half and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

But in overtime, the Heat turned to former Laker guard Eddie Jones, who scored five of his 22 points to give Miami its eighth consecutive victory over the Clippers.

After Odom’s three-pointer, the Clippers thought they had a chance to win in regulation when Miami Coach Pat Riley and at least one Heat player on the court called for a timeout even though the Heat did not have one left, which would have resulted in a technical foul and free throw for the Clippers with 3.4 seconds remaining.

“I saw three of their players call timeout,” Clipper guard Corey Maggette said. “But we made some bad decisions down the stretch. That’s why we lost the game. The game should have been over.”

Anthony Mason had 24 points and 16 rebounds and Brian Grant had 18 points and 14 boards to lead Miami. The Heat had too much inside strength for the Clippers, who had to rely on a small lineup down the stretch.

“They had a lot of faith in Darius [Miles] and I getting rebounds,” Odom said of the Clippers’ success with their small lineup. “We had to get some scorers in at that time. We were just trying to get something going.”

“We played hard and we played with great effort . . . We even played pretty smart for most of the game but they made some plays and we didn’t. I’m proud of the guys and all we can do is keep playing. It’s another heartbreaking loss for us. We keep playing teams so close but we just haven’t gotten the rewards for it.”

The Clippers knew they were going to be tested by the Heat, who under Riley still rank among the league’s best defensive teams, even without center Alonzo Mourning (sidelined for the season because of a kidney ailment).

Because the Clippers have struggled most of the season in their half-court offense, Miami attacked Odom every time he had the ball. And even though the Heat was called for three illegal defenses within the first 6:49 of the game, the tactic worked because it threw Odom off his game early. He picked up two quick fouls and played only 10 minutes in the first half, scoring five points without any rebounds.

With Tim Hardaway and Jones having their way against the Clippers’ backcourt, Miami opened up a five-point lead late in the first quarter before the game’s tempo drastically changed once rookies Miles and Keyon Dooling took the floor.

Miles, who had a strong game in the Clippers’ victory over Orlando on Monday, was just as good against the Heat. Miles made five of six field goals in the first half with four of his baskets coming on highlight dunks.

Dooling did his part by pushing the ball up the floor as much as possible and his penetration kept Miami off-balance. Dooling helped the Clippers turn a 33-26 deficit into a 43-40 lead at halftime.

The third quarter, however, was all Miami.

After feeling the Clippers out in the first half, Miami’s inside tandem of Grant and Mason simply took over. Center Michael Olowokandi and power forward Brian Skinner were no match as Mason and Grant combined for 12 points and 10 rebounds in the third quarter to help Miami open up a 14-point lead with 1:13 remaining in the quarter.

The Clippers, outscored 28-14 in the third quarter, cut the Heat’s lead to 68-57 to start the fourth and then went with a small, speedier lineup. Using Miles at center along with Maggette and Odom in the frontcourt and Jeff McInnis and Eric Piatkowski at guards, the Clippers got their transition game going and outscored Miami, 13-0, to take a 69-68 lead midway through the quarter.

With Mason doing most of the damage, Miami pulled ahead by four points with less than two minutes left in regulation. But the Clippers again refused to go away.

A late layup by Dooling and Odom’s last-second three-pointer sandwiched around a free throw by Anthony Carter sent the game into overtime.