Dooling’s Father Gets an Assist

Rookie Keyon Dooling may have established a new Clipper record for most road tickets acquired by a player for one game. With the help of his father, Dooling, who grew up in nearby Fort Lauderdale, Fla., came up with 168 tickets for family and friends to watch the Clippers lose, 101-99, in overtime Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Dooling didn’t disappoint as he came up with a couple of highlight plays and finished with six points in 14 minutes.

“You always want to play more and do something spectacular in your hometown but a win would have offset everything,” said Dooling, whose following included former high school classmates and a church group.

“But overall, it was a great experience. I heard my people from time to time. I think I played pretty well, it is just unfortunate, [Miami] made its key fourth-quarter run with our second unit on the floor.”

The run Dooling was referring to came with the Clippers holding a 12-point lead. Coach Alvin Gentry went with his young players in Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson, Corey Maggette and Dooling. They had played well together in the first half but they were no match against the Heat veterans.

“We knew we weren’t going to win the game by 25 points and we understood they were going to make their run,” Gentry said. “I started with [the young players] because they had given us some energy earlier. That was tough because they got back into the game but as a team we have to be able to sustain their runs.”

TONIGHT

at Orlando, 4:30 PST

Fox Sports Net 2

* Site--TD Waterhouse Centre.

* Radio--KXTA (1150).

* Records--Clippers 16-35, Magic 25-23.

* Record vs. Magic--1-0.

* Update--Five Clippers scored in double figures in a 92-80 victory over the Magic on Dec. 11 at Staples Center.