Clippers Stuck in a Bad Place

They hound-ed him, hemmed him in, blocked his shot, altered his shot, made him miss, made him pass and--above all else--made Michael Jordan seem human.

And still the Clippers lost Tuesday to Jordan and the Washington Wizards, 96-88, before a crowd of 20,674 at the MCI Center.

Somebody named Popeye Jones helped ensure the Clippers would go through another miserable night on the road, giving the Wizards the unexpected jolt they needed with Jordan off his game.

The Clippers’ loss was their 10th in 12 games away from Staples Center, a growing source of frustration for the players and Coach Alvin Gentry. The Clippers are 16-7 at home, but on the road they can’t re-create the confidence, enthusiasm and results they have displayed at Staples Center.

Holding Jordan to 18 points and nine-of-24 shooting was a poor consolation prize, according to Gentry. After all, the Clippers failed to slow Jones, who had a season-high 16 points, Hubert Davis (16 points) and Chris Whitney (18).

The Wizards, winners of four consecutive and 13 of their last 15, erased a 10-point deficit, built a 12-point lead in the second half and raced away when the Clippers got within 79-77 after Eric Piatkowski’s three-point basket late.

Down the stretch, Whitney had eight points and Jones had six and drew a key offensive foul against Clipper guard Quentin Richardson.

At game’s end, Gentry refused to use injury or illness as an excuse for the Clippers’ second consecutive loss to start this six-game trip.

For the record, the Clippers lost Lamar Odom to stomach flu in the first half, Michael Olowokandi did not play in the fourth quarter because of a bruised right forearm and Elton Brand continued to be troubled by a sore right elbow.

Jeff McInnis led the Clippers with a season-high 27 points. Brand had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Corey Maggette had 10 points, but no one else scored in double figures for the Clippers.

“We have not played with the energy I’d like to see on the road,” Gentry said. “We’re a completely different team on the road. We have to find a way to play with the same energy and confidence we do at home. That’s what playoff teams do. I see it as our biggest problem.

“That’s my job. I’ve got to get it fixed. Be it personnel or what we’re doing, I was hired to fix that. I’ve got to find a way to do that.”

Gentry was just getting started on a postgame rant.

“We’ve got to find a way to play at a consistent level,” he said. “Playing close isn’t good enough. Michael was nine for 24. That’s all you can hope for. Michael didn’t beat us. The other guys stepped up and played great.”

The Clippers are still searching for someone--anyone--to lead the team on the road. No question, it’s happened at home on occasion, when Brand, McInnis, Odom or Richardson has made a key play at a pivotal moment. McInnis’ three-point basket with 1.5 seconds left that lifted the Clippers over Milwaukee on Saturday stands out.

But the Clippers haven’t had a go-to guy on the road, although Richardson did lead them to a victory over the Suns with 11 points in the four quarter Dec. 18 at Phoenix.

“When we’re at Staples, we have fun,” said Darius Miles, a 20-year-old forward. “When we’re on the road, it’s not so much fun. We’re trying. Me and ‘Q’ [Richardson] jump around and bump chest. We try to do anything we can. I guess it’s not working. I’d like to see us win three games on this trip and we’ve already lost two.”

So what’s the answer?

Gentry sounded as if his patience has run out.

The Clippers are the league’s youngest team, with an average age of 24.8. In time, they might learn how to win games away from the familiar surroundings at Staples. But Gentry won’t use his team’s inexperience as an excuse for their lapses in intensity and execution on the road.

A difficult road schedule, which has the team playing four games in four cities in five nights, also won’t fly with Gentry.

“The great teams in this league walked into Boston Garden or Madison Square Garden and they knew it was going to be a totally hostile environment,” he said. “You’ve got to want to step into that arena and prove something. We played Michael Jordan here and I thought it would have given us a chance to do something special.”