Even By Clipper Standards, Latest Loss Is ‘Ridiculous’

Someone should check and see if the Clippers aren’t the Washington Generals in disguise.

Because only a team that has played the Harlem Globetrotters all these years could handle losing as well as the Clippers.

The surprising Orlando Magic completed a two-game season sweep over the Clippers with a 129-96 victory Wednesday night before 13,332 at TD Waterhouse Centre.

The loss was the Clippers’ eighth in a row and 22nd over their last 24 games. They have lost 14 consecutive road games and have not won away from Staples Center since defeating Golden State in Oakland on Dec. 22.

“It’s the same old [stuff],” said Clipper swingman Tyrone Nesby, who returned to the lineup after missing three games because of a broken big right toe.

“Tonight was unbelievable. We didn’t play any defense. We let them throw one pass up the court and score a layup over and over again. We didn’t have any guys getting back on defense and it got to the point where everyone was blaming each other.”

“I don’t see anything changing. This is ridiculous.”

The Clippers were so bad, Orlando journeyman center John Amaechi, who averages nine points, had 13 in the first quarter.

The Clippers were so bad, they had four 24-second shot-clock violations in the third quarter.

The Clippers were so bad, Orlando had 99 points in only three quarters and finished with a season high for points in a game, while also setting a Clipper opponent high for the season.

“I don’t know what is wrong with them,” Orlando point guard Darrell Armstrong said of the Clippers. “It may be chemistry. It may be the coaching. It may be simply the organization. . . . You don’t know but they have a team that should be winning with the talent they have.”

For a team supposedly hungry for a win, the Clippers surely didn’t play like it.

Orlando, which has won five in a row, applied full-court pressure defense early and often. The Clippers tried their best early, trailing by seven points at the end of the opening period, before getting run off the floor in the second.

“They just outran us all night,” Clipper interim Coach Jim Todd said. “We talked about it before the game. We talked about it at the half. . . . We want to play a similar style but they are doing a much better job of it right now than we are. We’ve tried to institute this and this is something they’ve done all year.”

Armstrong, who had a game-high 26 points and added eight assists, was the leader for the Magic, which outscored the Clippers, 31-21, in the second quarter. Orlando made 53.2% of its shots from the field and limited the Clippers to 39.2% in taking a 65-48 halftime lead.

The third quarter was filled with even more poor play by the Clippers.

Not only did they fail to get off a shot four times in their halfcourt offense, more than once, they failed to hustle for a loose ball only to give up an easy basket to the Magic. Several times, they left their feet on defense at the slightest fake and a couple of times they walked back on defense.

The Clippers trailed by 27 points at the start of the fourth quarter.

“If you look at our body language it looks like we [quit in games],” power forward Maurice Taylor said. “It’s hard to say we’re still fighting hard when we are walking and not really into it. I don’t like it. I get offended when people ask me if we quit. This is the NBA. . . . This is your life. Why wouldn’t you want to come in here, play hard for two hours and have the rest of the day off? This is real disappointing.”

After suffering two lopsided losses to open their longest trip of the season, the Clippers do not play again until Friday when they travel to Charlotte. For Todd, who dropped to 0-6 since replacing Chris Ford, it may get worse before it gets better.

“Somebody is going to have to step up and rally this team,” Todd said. “We need to somehow come together and regroup.”