Clippers Will Keep Change

The Clippers put on a wretched display of basketball Tuesday against the New York Knicks. They couldn’t shoot straight, defended poorly and lumbered around the court as if in a trance.

Then, late in the third quarter, the Clippers awoke with a start. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, they began running and jumping and shooting and dunking and blocking shots and making life miserable for the Knicks.

The Clippers, powered by a 24-8 run to start the final period, rallied for an improbable 112-110 victory over the Knicks before a disgruntled sellout crowd of 19,763 at Madison Square Garden.

As ever, the Clippers made it difficult (impossible?) to comprehend how in the wide world of sports they were ever able to pull out a victory after trailing by 18 points late in the third quarter.

It’s the largest deficit the Clippers have overcome this season, topping a rally Jan. 23 from 14 points down to beat the Lakers.

This one defied explanation. Perhaps Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry put it best when he said, “We’re a schizophrenic team. I guess it’s a byproduct of being young.”

The Clippers are the NBA’s youngest team, with an average age of 24.8. They also have proved after 50 games that they are capable of perhaps the league’s widest range of play, traveling the distance from brutal to brilliant in a nanosecond Tuesday.

“The thing about an NBA game is that it’s a long, long game,” Gentry said, trying to explain the unexplainable. “At halftime, we said we’ve got to play solid defense and try to chip away and chip away.”

Down by 60-49 by halftime, the Clippers stumbled to a 75-57 deficit after New York’s Mark Jackson made a medium-range jump shot with 4:33 left in the third quarter.

Slowly, but certainly, the Clippers began to rally. By the end of the third, the deficit was only 82-76.

“We were just trying to get the score down to a workable number and pick up our defense and start running,” Gentry said. “We are not a half-court team. The Knicks were making us play a half-court game, which is not our strength.”

When the Clippers pushed the pace, the Knicks could not keep up. After New York’s Allan Houston opened the fourth quarter by making three free throws--en route to 40 points--the Clippers seized control.

Quentin Richardson scored 13 of his team-high 30 points in the fourth, hitting on three-point baskets and whirling drives to the basket after New York played him tighter on the perimeter. He also grabbed 12 rebounds by game’s end.

“There’s no better place to play and show up and have a big game,” Richardson said. “We definitely wanted to come in here and get a win. This is a very historic place. I am just happy to get a win.”

Corey Maggette scored 25 points, making 12 of 17 free throws, despite playing on a strained left knee that forced him to sit out games last week against the Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs. Maggette had eight points in the fourth quarter.

Elton Brand, playing with a bruised left hip that sidelined him for Sunday’s loss in Boston, added 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Darius Miles supplied the highlight-reel move of the game, an ankle-snapping crossover dribble against Clarence Weatherspoon followed by a thunderous dunk that gave the Clippers a 100-90 lead with 4:51 left.

The Knicks would draw to within 111-110 after Houston’s three-pointer with 4.7 seconds left. But Richardson made one of two free throws with 3.5 seconds to go and Houston missed a desperation shot from about 20 feet at the buzzer.

“I thought we reached a stretch there midway through the fourth quarter where we stagnated,” Knick Coach Don Chaney said. “We had open shots. We didn’t take what they gave us. They gave us open shots, but we put the ball on the floor and drove into high-traffic areas.”

Over the game’s final 16:22, the Clippers cranked up their defense and exploited the deflated Knicks at the other end of the court, outscoring them by 55-35.

“Offensively, they were just punishing us,” Brand said. “They were getting offensive rebounds and we couldn’t stop the pick and roll. But in the second half, our defense was the story of the game.”