Count the Suns Among the Impressed

The Clippers continue to win praise for their determination as well as their athleticism. The Phoenix Suns were the latest opponent to rave about them.

“Don’t underestimate the Clippers,” Phoenix forward Shawn Marion said after losing to them, 96-92, Tuesday at America West Arena. “They’re a good team. Quentin Richardson [who had 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter] came in and hit some big shots. They got hot. That changed the momentum for them. I guess that’s all they needed.”

Phoenix Coach Scott Skiles put it this way: “I wouldn’t say the Clippers are a team you play down to. That is a good, young, athletic team. They play hard and some of those guys are still learning the NBA game. But that is a good team.”

Added forward Rodney Rogers, a former Clipper: “They play with a lot of confidence. They’re just out there free flowing and you can’t let them get shots. They get down and they don’t worry about it. They still fight back.”

The Clippers rallied in the fourth quarter to win, outscoring the Suns, 21-9. It was the second consecutive lopsided fourth quarter for the Clippers, who outscored the Detroit Pistons, 26-11, to take an 82-77 victory Sunday.

“Once the game got tight, they gained confidence,” Phoenix’s Penny Hardaway said. “With a young team like that, they’re going to get some athletic plays and that’s what they got, athletic plays. And they beat us.”

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The Clippers have been far from flawless, however. Just ask them and they’ll explain in detail how their shortcomings have kept them from being better than 14-11 in the first 25 games.

“It seems like we feel we can turn it on and turn it off whenever we want to, but that’s not the case,” forward Elton Brand said, referring to the Clippers’ frequent swings of intensity. “We need to put together a great 48 minutes. It feels good to win, but we need to put a complete game together.”

When asked if he has sneaked a peak at the Pacific Division standings recently, Coach Alvin Gentry said, “I don’t think anybody around here has been looking at the standings. The thing we’ve got to do is try to play consistently and to play well. We haven’t looked at the standings. I don’t think they’re important right now.”

The Clippers are in third place, by the way.

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Shooting guard Eric Piatkowski and backup point guard Keyon Dooling continue to make slow progress as they try to return from injuries. Piatkowski (strained right hip) and Dooling (sprained left ankle) have been doing some light running, but neither can make sharp cuts.