Clippers Run a Post Pattern

Their steps were tentative, their movements unsteady Monday. Then the Clippers threw the ball to center Michael Olowokandi on the low post and they began to resemble something approaching a playoff contender.

Olowokandi swept past Houston Rocket defenders again and again, dropping short hooks and jump shots into the basket. He was polished and poised and unwilling to let another game get away from the Clippers.

By game’s end, Olowokandi would score 26 points and take 11 rebounds, hoisting the Clippers on his shoulders and leading them to a 93-86 victory over the game Rockets before a sellout crowd of 19,208 at Staples Center.

Olowokandi’s sure hands kept the Clippers firmly entrenched in the Western Conference playoff race. A loss would have been devastating to the ninth-place Clippers’ hopes, but their victory brought them within two games of the eighth-place Utah Jazz.

“Excellent,” Elton Brand said of Olowokandi’s play. “I was even trying to get him the ball in the first half so I could get assists for myself. He was that hot.”

For the record, Brand was credited with one assist. He also had 20 points and 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double in 13 games and his 47th this season. His streak of consecutive double-doubles ended at 11 in the Clippers’ loss Saturday against the Seattle SuperSonics.

When things got tight late, the Clippers got a key runner from reserve guard Doug Overton and two free throws apiece by Brand and Jeff McInnis and maintained at least a three-point lead in the final two minutes.

When it counted most, the Clippers came together and subdued the Rockets, taking the lead for good at the end of the third quarter and making the plays playoff teams make down the stretch.

“We seem to be struggling a little bit,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “We don’t have the same zip in our steps as we did last week. But we came up with a way to win. It seems to be different guys stepping up for us. Obviously, Doug Overton’s basket was huge and Michael played great.”

Gentry expressed disappointment that the Clippers failed to feed Olowokandi after he scored 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the first half. Olowokandi took only three shots in the second half and made two.

“When a guy is going as good as he was, we’ve got to find ways to get him the ball,” Gentry said. “It doesn’t make good basketball sense not to throw it to him when he’s that hot. We have to do a better job of milking what’s best for us.”

When Olowokandi missed two free throws with 1:40 to play, it seemed the Clippers were staggering. They led by 87-83, but Houston got only a three-point basket from Cuttino Mobley the rest of the way. Overton’s short jumper pushed the Clippers toward their third victory in four games against Houston.

“The lane kind of opened up,” Overton said with a shrug. “I’ve been around long enough to know to be ready. I tried to contribute any way I could.”

Olowokandi’s 20 points notwithstanding, the most impressive part of the Clippers’ first half was their defense. They held the Rockets to 37 points, which was just the sort of springboard they needed heading into the second half.

Gentry spoke before the game about tightening up on defense.

“We’ve got to get back to playing the good team defense,” he said. “That’s what’s carried us the last few months. Our defense fuels our offense.”

That certainly was the case in the first half, when the Clippers took a 45-37 lead. They ran after forcing turnovers and finished with dunks or layups.

For instance, Darius Miles blocked Eddie Griffin’s jump shot, raced down court, accepted Eric Piatkowski’s long pass and dunked for a 36-30 Clipper lead. Moments later, McInnis fed a streaking Quentin Richardson for a layup.

Houston Coach Rudy Tomjanovich could been seen holding his hands over his head, signaling for his team to call timeout even as Richardson was racing toward the hoop. Clearly, Tomjanovich wanted no part of a fastbreaking game.

Still, the Rockets soldiered on, taking their first lead, 55-54, on Kelvin Cato’s dunk midway through the third quarter. They made 14 of 20 shots in the third quarter (70%) and led by as much as five points.