Clippers Pay Back the Kings

It may be difficult to imagine, but the Clippers actually had to battle overconfidence Friday night against Sacramento, even though the Kings went into the game with 18 more victories.

Even owner Donald Sterling was among the sellout Staples Center crowd and he usually does not show up unless he thinks his team has a chance to win.

And his Clippers didn’t disappoint. With Lamar Odom and Darius Miles hooking up on a spectacular alley-oop dunk for an exclamation point, the Clippers defeated Chris Webber-less Sacramento, 88-81, before 19,415.

With Corey Maggette scoring a career-high 23 points off the bench, the Clippers ended a three-game losing streak and avenged an overtime loss at Sacramento three nights earlier, despite 31 points from King forward Predrag Stojakovic.

“The way we played them up there, we really felt like we should have won,” said Coach Alvin Gentry, whose team improved to 21-41. “We knew if we are to become a good team and take the franchise where we want to take it to, we need to establish ourselves at home. So anybody we play in this building, we expect to win. . . . It was like we owed them one.”

The Clippers’ fortunes looked good 90 minutes before tipoff when they saw Webber working out hard in a T-shirt and shorts, running the length of the court with a slight limp. Webber, who has sat out the last 10 games because of an ankle sprain, ran as if he was still a few days away from returning and the Clippers weren’t going to see him in a game uniform.

And, they didn’t. But they did see Odom, the team’s leading scorer, suited up and ready to play, which was a good sign because he was listed as questionable after sitting out nearly the entire second half of Thursday’s loss at Portland because of a bruised right hip.

Throw in the fact that the Clippers had a fresh memory of how they basically handed the Kings the win on Tuesday after leading by five points in the final three minutes of regulation, and it was easy to see why the Clippers were confident at the start.

Because Sacramento made sure to always keep a player back in transition defense, the Clippers were not able to run early. But they made up for their lack of easy baskets by moving the ball around in their halfcourt offense. Each starter scored and had at least two field-goal attempts in the first quarter

The only reason Sacramento led, 22-21, after 12 minutes was Stojakovic, who had 15 first-quarter points. The third-year swingman from Yugoslavia made seven of nine shots, with most of his attempts coming from long range.

The Clippers didn’t take control of the game until Gentry called on his youngsters, Maggette, Miles, Quentin Richardson and Keyon Dooling. After Sacramento took a 27-25 lead, the Clippers went on a 16-2 run, with Maggette scoring 11 consecutive points in the rally.

“Other than Corey Maggette, who played great, I don’t think none of the other individuals did anything special,” Gentry said.

“I told him to keep taking it to the basket and he would get some calls. And eventually, he did.”

Leading, 46-39, at the half, the Clippers returned to the same balanced attack they used to start the game. Every starter scored at least three points and had three shots in the third quarter as they were able to play Sacramento pretty even and still held a 64-60 lead heading into the fourth.

Unlike games of the past, the Clippers held their poise against the Kings down the stretch.

After Sacramento cut the lead to 79-77, the Clippers finally made the plays needed to close out a victory. Maggette knocked down a three-point basket and several free throws, and Sean Rooks and Miles each came up with key rebounds. The Clippers finished the game with a foul line-to-foul line pass from Rooks to Odom, who served up a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Miles for a power dunk.

“When Rooks threw the ball, I kind of looked and could see Miles in the corner. I knew if I put anything up, he would go get it,” Odom said. “A little playground came out in me.”

Even Sterling was happy with the finish as, in typical Clipper fashion, he paraded his entourage in the team’s locker room after the game as if his team had won an NBA title.