This Time, They Closed the Deal

One close victory does not make a season, especially for the Clippers, who have plenty of experience losing nail-biters.

But after Friday night’s victory against Sacramento, L.A. can certainly feel better about itself after losing in overtime to the Kings earlier in the week.

“It feels great and it’s a different feeling when you win those close games,” forward Cherokee Parks said. “Because, [losing close games] takes a lot out of you emotionally.”

With the Clippers idle until Monday, when they play host to Denver Nuggets, Coach Alvin Gentry gave the team an off day Saturday. Gentry has been successful in keeping the team’s spirits up, even though L.A. will start its vacation after the regular-season finale April 17 against Utah.

“It’s important for us to continue to play as if we are in the playoff race,” Gentry said. “We have to approach it that way.

“We also want to try and get to as close to .500 at home as we can possibly get. We will have to beat some really good teams in order to do that. But that gives us some incentive to keep playing throughout the season. Obviously, we will not be in the playoff race but there are other things we can look forward to in order to keep playing.”

Gentry said because the players have grown more familiar with each other, the team has played .500 ball since Feb. 1.

“We are playing together more and we understand each other better,” Gentry said. “Our roles are a little bit more defined and we know exactly what is expected of us. Because of that, we are able to play better.”

The good feeling in the locker room is not lost on veteran Eric Piatkowski.

“We have a very positive vibe every night,” Piatkowski said. “We are playing the best teams even or winning at home. And, then on the road, we are right there. We’re giving ourselves a chance to win and that’s all you can ask.

“In the past, when we would lose, we were getting beat bad. We would be down 20 points an entire game and it would be nasty and ugly.”

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Lamar Odom had nothing but praise for Sacramento’s Predrag Stojakovic, who scored 31 points on Friday. Odom had to defend him most of the game.

“He torched me like I’ve never been torched before,” Odom said. “He hit one on me and I didn’t think too much about that. Then he hit that second one and then the third, I knew then it was going to be a long night. He’s good. He can really shoot the ball.”

Gentry also had good things to say about Stojakovic.

“We were playing up on him and he still got off,” Gentry said. “He has great footwork. He is great in getting his shot off. He’s just a tremendous shooter.”

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In the past, Piatkowski would not be expected to defend high-scoring swingmen such as Detroit’s Jerry Stackhouse and Portland’s Bonzi Wells, but he has this season.

“I feel like I can guard anybody,” Piatkowski said. “It’s a maturity thing. As you get older you learn the game and how to play better defense. Some nights, when I’m guarding a [scorer], the important thing is to keep your body in front of the guy. But some big scorers are going to shoot the ball 20 to 30 times and they may shoot 30% and still get 20 points. I’ve been taking more pride in that.”