Riding High on the Road

Well, it’s a race now.

The Clippers went into the Target Center and took a victory Monday from the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-99, before a disbelieving crowd of 17,992. The Clippers’ third consecutive road victory moved them within 11/2 games of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Took?

Fact is, the Clippers reached out and grabbed the game from the hands of a team that, at least in the NBA’s standings, is vastly superior. They won on a court where very few visiting teams win.

And they accomplished it with such remarkable poise and confidence down the stretch that Elton Brand was moved to bellow at teammate Quentin Richardson during a fourth-quarter timeout: “We’re supposed to win these games.”

Weeks ago--days ago even--it would have seemed preposterous. But it happened Monday, when the Clippers’ bench outscored Minnesota’s reserves, 54-15, and when six players scored 10 points or more and only three did for the Timberwolves.

“It’s not real that I’m in a playoff hunt,” Brand later joked with reporters. “We’re going home with a three-game winning streak. All on the road. If you had told us early in the season that we would do that on the road, we would never have believed it.”

The Clippers’ victory coupled with the Utah Jazz’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Seattle SuperSonics’ defeat against the Dallas Mavericks tightened the race for a playoff berth. The ninth-place Clippers are 11/2 games behind the eighth-place Jazz and three behind the seventh-place SuperSonics.

Minnesota lost its fourth in a row and suffered only its sixth loss in 29 games at home. Kevin Garnett led the Timberwolves with 26 points and Joe Smith had 25, overshadowing the Clippers’ best players.

The Clippers simply had more good players than the Timberwolves and used that to their advantage. For instance, Minnesota suffocated Brand and Michael Olowokandi, holding them to 15 and four points, respectively.

But other Clippers made significant contributions, starting with reserves Richardson, Darius Miles and Sean Rooks. Minnesota had no answer for Richardson’s 17 points, Miles’ 20 or Rooks’ 13 (including 11 in the fourth quarter).

And Jeff McInnis won the battle of the point guards, scoring 17 points with 14 assists. Minnesota’s Chauncey Billups scored 18 points and had eight assists.

The teams were tied, 75-75, to start the fourth, but the Clippers immediately went on a 17-4 tear. Minnesota never recovered and never threatened late as the Clippers maintained a double-digit lead for most of the rest of the way.

“Obviously, they were not going to let Elton or Michael beat them,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “They double-teamed them every time we threw the ball in there. It shows we’re growing as a team because we passed the ball right back outside.”

And into the waiting hands of Richardson, Miles and Rooks.

“Darius Miles was sensational,” Gentry said of the 20-year-old forward.

At the buzzer, the Clippers raced off the court, through their postgame showers and onto the bus that would carry them to the airport and their flight back home. They were 3-1 on their four-game trip to the Snow Belt, and they believed they should have won at Milwaukee to start their final lengthy trek of the season.

As it is, their three-game road streak is the longest since they won three in a row between Feb. 19-22 last season. The Clippers also concluded a dizzying stretch of 25 of 35 games away from Staples Center with a credible 18-17 record.

What’s left isn’t easy, but the Clippers finish with 10 of their final 18 at home, including a “road” game against the Lakers, and leave the Pacific time zone only once more.

With six victories in seven games and eight in their last 12, the Clippers seem poised to challenge for their first playoff appearance since 1996-97.

“We’ve still got a ton of work to do,” Gentry said. “We know that. We’ll go home now and get back to Staples and take care of business.”