Maggette Makes Presence Felt

For almost three quarters, second-year swingman Corey Maggette sat quietly waiting for his name to be called in the Clippers’ season-opening loss at Utah on Tuesday.

Although he was eager to play, he understood that he needed to be patient as he watched Lamar Odom, Darius Miles, Tyrone Nesby, Quentin Richardson and Eric Piatkowski play. But as the Clippers’ deficit grew, Maggette began to wonder if his opportunity would ever come.

It finally did when Odom picked up his first technical foul with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter. And in the 16 minutes he was on the court, Maggette made the most of his time with 15 points and five rebounds.

Thanks to his effort against the Jazz, Maggette will not have to wait as long before getting into tonight’s game against Vancouver at Staples Center.

“He played well,” Coach Alvin Gentry said of Maggette. “He’s proven and played himself into the situation.

“But like I’ve said before, guys are going to step up and then they are going to get an opportunity to play the next game. . . . That’s the way it is going to be for a while. Rotations are still going to be up in the air.”

Maggette said he tries not to worry about playing time.

“I’m just going out there to play. . . . I don’t know how Alvin is going to do his rotation,” Maggette said. “Just whenever I get in, I have to work hard and try and stay on the floor.

“[On Tuesday] I just told myself to go out and do what I was supposed to do. It just so happens, I went out there and played well.”

*

Somewhat lost in the Clipper loss was the play of point guard Jeff McInnis, who scored a team-high 20 points on nine-of-12 shooting.

McInnis also did a good job running the Clipper offense. In 35 minutes, he had seven assists with three turnovers. Gentry, however, was not pleased with the Clippers’ overall ability to protect the ball. They finished with 24 turnovers.

“You can’t beat good teams when you turn the ball over,” Gentry said. “If you look at the teams that won [on opening night], most of them had between 12 to 15 turnovers.

“Our goal now is to get where we are playing consistently for 48 minutes and not 24 or 30.”

TONIGHT

vs. Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.

* Site--Staples Center.

* TV--Fox Sports Net 2

* Radio--KXTA (1150).

* Records--Clippers 0-1, Grizzlies 1-0.

* Record vs. Grizzlies (1999-2000)--1-3.

* Update--Gentry said the Clippers will stick with the same starting lineup they used at Utah with center Michael Olowokandi, forwards Brian Skinner and Odom and guards Miles and McInnis. The Clippers are 9-7 in home openers since moving to Los Angeles.