Clippers Crumble Again With Game on the Line

Same story, different night.

When it comes to losing games they probably would win if they executed better in the stretch, the Clippers are in a league of their own. They proved it again Wednesday against Boston.

With Lamar Odom, Maurice Taylor and Derek Anderson each showcasing their offensive skills, the Clippers couldn’t put away the Celtics, who used an 11-2 run late in the fourth quarter of a 95-88 victory before 15,761 at FleetCenter.

Boston led by only a point with five minutes remaining when the Clippers collectively had a brain freeze.

Until then, the Clippers did a solid job of defending perimeter shooters and breaking the Celtics’ fullcourt trapping defense. Then came the three-minute stretch, when the Clippers (10-24) looked lost and the Celtics (15-19) took advantage.

Boston guard Paul Pierce scored eight consecutive points and the Celtics forced two turnovers when the Clippers could not advance the ball past halfcourt.

“Our game plan was to keep attacking them and play solid defense,” said Anderson, who had 18 points on seven-of-14 shooting. “The number one thing was not to turn the ball over and that’s what happened. We shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers.”

Odom, who played one season collegiately at nearby Rhode Island, led the Clippers with 26 points and added nine rebounds. Taylor finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds as he, Odom and Anderson combined for 66 of the Clippers’ 88 points.

The Clippers, who had 19 turnovers, also got a strong game from center Michael Olowokandi, who scored only eight points but had 15 rebounds and blocked four shots.

“The execution at the end was just bad,” said Odom, who played well in his homecoming to the New England area.

The breakdown started when Clipper guard Eric Piatkowski wandered from Pierce to help out defensively inside with the shot clock running down for Boston. Pierce made a jump shot to put the Celtics ahead, 81-78, with 4:49 left.

After a jump shot by Taylor, Piatkowski again left Pierce open and he made a three-point basket to put Boston ahead by four. After a Clipper miss, Pierce made another jump shot to open an 86-80 Celtic lead.

“[Piatkowski] was doing a good job on him one on one,” Clipper Coach Chris Ford said of the defense on Pierce, who attended Inglewood High. “I don’t know why he picked that time to leave Paul.”

Boston’s pressure defense took over after that. Two consecutive times the Clippers could not shake free, resulting in turnovers and four more Boston points to extend the Celtics’ lead to 10 with 2:57 remaining.

“It’s stuff we have gone over,” Ford said. “We handled it well at some points of the game and then we picked the wrong darn time to commit turnovers. The game was sitting right there in the balance. . . . It only takes one guy not to be in his spot.

“You have to want the ball, you can’t run away from it or allow a guy to be aggressive on you. You have to be just as aggressive going for the ball just as they are attacking you.”

With Anderson scoring six points and Taylor adding a dunk, the Clippers made a late rally, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Celtics avenged a three-point loss to the Clippers Dec. 26 at Staples Center. The Clippers have lost two in a row.

Boston forward Antoine Walker missed 16 of 23 shots but finished with 19 points. Center Vitaly Potapenko had 11 rebounds and 10 points.

“I think our attitude won it for us tonight, our positive attitude,” Boston Coach Rick Pitino said. “Because things could have, when you lose and your confidence is shaken a little bit, things could go bad for you. . . . This was a game where we were under great duress.”

Maybe so, but the Clippers helped, a problem that continues to plague the team.

“You can’t compare every game. . . . not when you play 82 in the regular season,” said Taylor, who made 10 of 19 shots after missing 11 of 14 in a loss Monday at Cleveland.

“We played hard. We played good defense and shot the ball pretty well, but we turned the ball over at crucial times down the stretch.”