Clippers Return to Port on Hot Streak

Seven games in 10 days is the type of trip that can break any NBA team, especially if that trip includes three overtime games.

Maybe the Clippers are too young to know better.

After starting the trip with four losses, the Clippers finished strong with three consecutive victories, including a 93-80 spanking of the Chicago Bulls Thursday night before a sellout United Center crowd of 21,959.

With rookies Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson and second-year man Corey Maggette playing their first homecoming game together, the Clippers fed off their energy and played smart enough to complete a season sweep of Chicago for the first time in 22 years.

“It really wasn’t a big thing, beating them again,” said Miles, who grew up in East St. Louis, Ill., and lived in Chicago with Richardson last summer.

“We started off slow but once we got into rhythm, it was over. I think we may be the closest team in the NBA and when we play unselfish, we’re [a difficult team to beat].”

The Clippers were sluggish in the first half, which was certainly understandable considering they were playing their fourth road game in five days. But the Bulls, who played without Ron Mercer (ankle sprain) and Ron Artest (league suspension), were unable to capitalize. Chicago’s big man, Elton Brand, finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, but he missed 14 of 21 shots from the field.

After trailing, 42-41, at the half, the Clippers took advantage of a cold-shooting Chicago team, which shot 30.5% from the field, the lowest percentage by a Clipper opponent this season. The Clippers’ previous low came when they limited the Bulls to 33.7% in a 20-point victory Feb. 5 at Staples Center.

With point guard Jeff McInnis, who finished with a team-high 17 points, and Lamar Odom, who had 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, regrouping after combining to miss their first eight shots, the Clippers’ offense clicked in the second half.

“We had to pick it up defensively first,” said Richardson, who grew up in Chicago and attended DePaul. “We’re starting to know that we play our best basketball when we play well on defense and get stops. Once we did that, you saw a lot of smiles from us out on the court.”

A key for the second-half surge was the play of Miles against Chicago’s No. 1 draft pick, forward Marcus Fizer. Miles, who weighs nearly 60 pounds less than Fizer, used his quickness to frustrate the Bulls’ rookie, who had eight points in the first half but none in the second.

“He always shuts [Fizer] down,” Richardson said of Miles. “Darius was a little anxious at first but once the young fellow gets settled, he gets things under control [defensively].”

With Brand having trouble scoring against the Clippers’ collapsing defense and Fizer unable to touch the ball in the lane, the Bulls had to rely on the outside shooting of Fred Hoiberg, but his four three-point baskets and 22 points weren’t enough.

The Clippers, who will play at home against Portland on Saturday, have reason to feel good about their trip. Although they return to Los Angeles with a 3-4 record, they played well enough to be 5-2. They lost in overtime at Miami and New Jersey after leading in long stretches of both games.

“We showed our character tonight because we were down but we came back,” said McInnis, who also had six assists without a turnover. “It was a game we started slow because we were tired and really didn’t want to be out there. We should pat ourselves on our backs because this was a tough game to go out and win. We stayed focused and did what we had to do.”

While Miles had a strong game with 14 points and five rebounds in 34 minutes, and Richardson added seven and three in 24 minutes, Maggette struggled. Maggette, who also grew up in Chicago, scored only one point in 10 minutes.