Odom Leads Way--Parks Follows

The Clippers have had more than their share of spectacular plays and dunks this season, but none created the reaction from the team’s bench like Cherokee Parks’ slam seconds before halftime against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night.

With time running down in the second quarter, Earl Boykins missed a soft runner, but Parks was there for a one-hand power dunk over a crowd of players. It was the type of play Parks made all night as he stepped up with 15 points to help lead the Clippers to a 92-86 victory and end Denver’s five-game winning streak before 11,251 at Staples Center.

In defeating the Nuggets for the first time in three tries this season, the Clippers almost blew a 14-point second-half lead, but Lamar Odom made sure they didn’t with a couple of key defensive rebounds and late block on a shot by Denver’s Raef LaFrentz.

Odom, who had his ninth double-double of the season, wanted to talk about Parks and his dunk.

“That gave us a lot of momentum heading into the half,” said Odom, who finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. “It was something we needed. It was one of the best dunks of the year.”

For Parks, who made seven of nine shots and added four rebounds and two steals, playing on the Clippers fits him perfectly. Because he is able to shoot from the perimeter, Parks provides another scoring option for the Clippers when they run high pick-and-rolls.

“This is an exciting team,” said Parks, who joined the Clippers on Nov. 28 when he was acquired in a trade from Washington. “We are starting to play well together right now. We are starting to learn how to win games.”

Losing games down the stretch is something the Clippers have done enough already this season. One of their worst defeats came at the hands of the Nuggets, who erased a seven-point deficit in the final 3:21 to win at Denver on Dec. 26.

“We went out there feeling like they had stolen one from us the last time we played,” said center Michael Olowokandi, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. “They had an early lead, but we kept on playing. For us, it is about defense. We may talk about us being a fastbreak team, but you can’t do that unless you play defense.”

For the second consecutive game, the Clippers must have thought they had an 8 p.m. tipoff instead of 7:30. Because just as the Indiana Pacers did in their victory over the Clippers on Monday, the Nuggets took control of the game early and led 15-8 halfway into the first quarter.

But after failing to get back in transition defense to open the game, the Clippers stepped up their effort and were able to shut down Antonio McDyess, who finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds, in the second quarter.

The turning moment for the Clippers came when Boykins, who has become a Staples Center crowd favorite, replaced Jeff McInnis at point guard with the Clippers trailing, 30-23, early in the quarter.

By using his quickness and penetration ability, Boykins helped trigger a 29-6 run for the Clippers, who held a 52-38 lead at halftime. Boykins missed all three of his first-half shots but he had six assists and the Clippers held Denver to four-of-19 shooting in the second quarter.

“It’s very frustrating [playing against Boykins],” Denver’s Nick Van Exel said. “He’s so quick and is always changing directions. It’s hard to keep him in front of you. I hate playing guys like him.”

Denver started the second half like they did the first quarter. With McDyess running the floor, the Nuggets cut their deficit to 62-58 with less than four minutes left in the third.

But again, the Clippers had an answer. With Odom leading the way on both ends of the floor (he finished with three blocked shots), the Clippers scored the final seven points to take a 69-58 lead into the fourth.

The Clippers held their lead the rest of the game, but things got interesting when Van Exel knocked down a deep three-pointer to make the score 90-86 with 43.8 seconds left. But Odom’s block on LaFrentz and two free throws by Boykins sealed the victory.