Frequent Flyer Miles Wins It

The ball went to Tim Duncan, as everyone inside the Alamodome knew it would. Duncan went to work on Elton Brand, as 17,288 San Antonio Spur fans screamed. Duncan faked Brand out of his high tops and launched a short jump shot that would tie the score and send the game to overtime.

Except the ball never got to the basket.

Darius Miles swatted Duncan’s shot away, Jeff McInnis made two free throws at the other end and the Clippers held on for a 91-87 victory Thursday that ended a 15-game losing streak to the Spurs.

If the Clippers have proved anything during the first three games of their seven-game cross-country trip, it’s to expect the unexpected.

They flopped Monday in Memphis, losing to the last-place Grizzlies. They rebounded Tuesday in Dallas, ending the Mavericks’ seven-game winning streak. They were superb late Thursday in San Antonio, giving the Spurs their fourth consecutive home loss.

Next stop, Atlanta.

“I can’t remember the last time we beat these guys in their place,” said center Michael Olowokandi, one of a number of Clipper standouts. “But we did tonight by sticking with them and pulling it out at the end. That is becoming a trademark of this team. To keep fighting like that is becoming commonplace for us.”

The trick to winning on the road, which the Clippers did for only the fifth time in 20 games and the first time in consecutive games since Feb. 21-22 of last season, is doing the little things right.

For the second consecutive game, the Clippers played suffocating defense in the fourth quarter. Against Dallas, they outscored the Mavericks, 35-19, in the fourth. Against San Antonio, they played the Spurs even in the fourth, each team scoring 22 points. But the Clippers, who led by four points going into the fourth, held the Spurs to six-of- 19 shooting (31.6%) in the final 12 minutes.

“The thing I was most pleased with was our defense,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “The footnote to that was that we didn’t give up a lot of second shots.”

Although the Spurs outrebounded the Clippers, 13-9, in the fourth quarter (and by 50-43 for the game), they took only four offensive rebounds in the final period and had two second-chance points.

A refresher course in Fundamentals of Basketball 101 helped set the stage for two critical highlight-reel plays for the Clippers in the game’s final minute.

First, leading by 87-85 after Duncan’s sweet bank shot, the Clippers broke San Antonio’s press as an alert Olowokandi passed to an open Brand after Duncan’s try for a steal backfired at midcourt.

“I knew I had to finish it as soon as possible because those 7-footers were right behind me,” Brand said of his breakaway dunk that gave the Clippers an 89-85 lead.

Next, after Terry Porter made two free throws for San Antonio and McInnis missed a jumper for the Clippers, the Spurs set up a play for Duncan that could have sent the game into overtime.

Miles appeared and saved the game for the Clippers (24-23). Miles scored only six points while starting for the injured Corey Maggette, who had been filling in for the injured Lamar Odom.

“I just don’t think you can judge the kid by his stats,” Gentry said.

Miles, a 20-year-old forward, moved smartly to cut off Duncan’s escape route, recording the biggest block of his second NBA season. Duncan led the Spurs with 23 points and 16 rebounds, but the basket he didn’t make resulted in a deafening silence inside the Alamodome.

“We all knew Tim Duncan was going to make a strong move to the basket and try to get fouled,” Miles said. “I knew he wasn’t looking to pass. I took a bit of a gamble by leaving Steve Smith, but it was a good gamble. That’s when I went blindside and got the block. That was the ball game.”

In the end, it was difficult to determine the winner of the game ball. Miles was a strong candidate. Brand had 19 points and 14 rebounds, his 32nd double-double. Olowokandi had 20 points and 12 rebounds. McInnis had 15 points and nine assists. And Quentin Richardson had 18 points in a reserve role.

“It’s a great win against an elite team,” Gentry said. “We’re starting to believe if we play with confidence and stick together, we can win on the road.”