It’s Official, Clippers Are Left Unhappy

Down by three points and with time slipping away, the Clippers went where they often go in such critical situations. Power forward Elton Brand then went where he often goes with the game on the line.

Brand wheeled around earthbound counterpart Anthony Mason, brushed past another Milwaukee Buck and deposited the basketball into the hoop. A referee’s whistle sounded and the Clipper reserves erupted in cheers. A free throw from Brand and the score would be tied with 1 minute 7 seconds still to be played.

Brand never got to the line. His layup did not count. He was called for an offensive foul. The Clippers did not tie the Bucks.

In fact, they ended up losing Wednesday to Milwaukee, 92-86, before a crowd of 16,985 at the Bradley Center.

In a nanosecond, the Clippers’ three-game winning streak and any momentum they generated with it was history. They were frustrated and angry by game’s end, the first stop on a four-game trip through the Snow Belt.

“This one is going to sting,” Brand said.

Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry was livid on the sideline but later made no comments that could result in a fine from the league office for criticizing its referees. Before the game, he had predicted Orlando Magic Coach Doc Rivers would be fined $12,500 for his outburst after Tuesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. Rivers was fined $7,500.

“I don’t have anything to say about the officiating,” he said. “I’m not giving the league any of my money.”

At the end, the Clippers continuously drove to the basket. The Clippers believed they drew obvious fouls against the Bucks, but the calls went against them and they dropped four games behind the eighth-place Seattle SuperSonics in the battle for a Western Conference playoff spot.

Certainly, the Clippers suffered breakdowns that cost them. After all, they remain very much a work in progress, particularly with Keyon Dooling, Corey Maggette and Lamar Odom injured.

The Clippers made only 19 of 28 free throws (67.9%) and failed for long stretches to solve Milwaukee’s defensive pressure on the post.

Brand, for instance, scored only 11 points and took 10 rebounds.

Down the stretch, though, the Clippers (ninth overall in the West with a 30-31 record) went to the basket and were not rewarded with free throws. In the quiet of their locker room, they wondered why.

“We’re playing for something,” point guard Jeff McInnis said, referring to their status as a playoff contender. “Tremaine Fowlkes got pushed out of bounds [in the fourth quarter] and they said he slipped? Those are plays you’ve got to see. We’re playing hard and taking the ball to the hole. We’re not getting the calls.”

McInnis, who led the Clippers with 16 points, stopped short of saying they don’t yet have the respect of the league’s referees, particularly on the road.

“We play hard every night,” he said. “Even on our home court we have to go through this.”

Of the pivotal call against him, Brand said an official told him that he had pushed off against a Milwaukee player. He wondered how that could be when he had both hands on the ball as he dropped in his layup.

“I want them to take a look at the [videotape] and tell me if it was a push off,” he said. “Ray Allen [of the Bucks] made the same move in the first half and it was a foul against us. It was a big play. We put ourselves in a position to win the game.

“But we don’t want to make excuses.”

The Clippers played with the requisite desperation, passion and energy from start to finish, according to Gentry. They led, 22-17, after the first quarter and by 46-41 by halftime. They finally lost their lead early in the third quarter, but they withstood Milwaukee’s 13-2 run and seized the lead back, 61-60, after Darius Miles made a short jumper.