Clippers Don’t Come Close to Solving the Mavericks

It’s been awhile since the Clippers suffered a beat down like the one they received Sunday from the Dallas Mavericks. And it wasn’t pretty.

In defeating the Clippers for the 11th consecutive time, 111-93, the Mavericks jumped on top early and got better as the game went on until they treated their sellout Reunion Arena crowd of 18,187 to free chalupas by topping the 100-point mark with 7:16 left in the game.

The Clippers, who played their second game without suspended forward Lamar Odom, have lost the first two games of their three-game Texas trip, which ends tonight at San Antonio.

Quentin Richardson led the Clippers with 15 points and five rebounds off the bench. Corey Maggette, starting for Odom, had his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and center Michael Olowokandi had 13 points and six rebounds.

“We’re not going to use Lamar as an excuse,” said Coach Alvin Gentry about the Clippers, who dropped to 8-26 on the road. “[Odom] is a great player for us but I look at a team like Miami. They lose great players and they keep playing. That’s the attitude that we need to have. . . . Guys just have to step up and play until we get him back.

“We can’t have pity parties for ourselves. This is the NBA and there’s not one team that is going to feel sorry for us.”

It didn’t happen Sunday for the Clippers, who have been swept by the Mavericks three seasons in a row.

It was obvious early that the Clippers were no match for the Mavericks, who finished with six players scoring in double figures and had a season-high 32 assists on 51.1% shooting.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas by scoring all 22 of his points in the first half. Juwan Howard had his second double-double as a Maverick with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Shawn Bradley added 12 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots.

“Creating matchup problems is our strength right now,” said Dallas point guard Steve Nash, who made six of seven field goals and finished with 16 points and seven assists.

“Obviously, we are going to try and exploit that in every game. I think our team is becoming more versatile and with our cohesion as a team, our versatility is even going beyond the versatility of individuals. . . . We are able to stretch out the defense and we’re playing smarter.”

Even with Odom out, Dallas Coach Don Nelson wanted to make sure the Clippers didn’t gain confidence early. Known for his unconventional coaching style, Nelson started off by having all-star Michael Finley defend Clipper point guard Jeff McInnis. He then placed his smallish point guard, Nash, on shooting guard Eric Piatkowski and trapped the Clippers all over the court.

Sometimes, the Clippers beat the Mavericks’ double-teams but mostly they forced a quick shot and Dallas made them pay. Before the Clippers knew what hit them, they were down by 10 points.

“They are a very unselfish team. They really pass the ball around,” Olowokandi said. “We always have a hard time keeping their guards in front of us. It would be one thing if it was just one guy to stop, like Philadelphia and [Allen] Iverson, but they have too many guys who can beat us off the dribble. Then, they have too many guys who can spot up and wait for a pass to shoot a three-pointer.”

But even with Nowitzki making all five of his field goals in the second quarter, including two three-pointers, the Clippers only trailed, 63-50, at halftime, thanks to their own 50% shooting from the floor.

The third quarter, however, was as ugly as it gets with the Clippers shooting only 27.8%.

Dallas opened up a 26-point lead and never looked back. The only drama left after the Mavericks’ dominant second-half start was when they would reach 100 and send their fans home with free food.