Only the Clippers Can Blow Triple Playoff

With three teams jockeying for playoff spots and seedings, every game and every shot matters at Staples Center these days.

That went double for Saturday, when the Kings played the San Jose Sharks and the Clippers played the Phoenix Suns.

It must be money time, because the big-money guy was in the house.

Talk about faces in the sellout crowd: That was King owner Philip Anschutz in town for a change and shaking players’ hands in the Kings’ dressing room after their 3-0 victory over the Sharks moved them into a first-place tie on points in the Pacific Division. The reclusive billionaire rarely does interviews. He only had a question: “How do you like those Kings?”

What’s not to like?

They have the requisite strong goaltending; Felix Potvin shut out the Sharks and came within 49 seconds of a shutout against Colorado on Thursday night. Ziggy Palffy’s racking up goals (two more Saturday) and Jason Allison keeps picking up assists. They’re getting the numbers from the big names and getting the effort from everybody else.

“In the last 14 games going into today, we’ve had 10 different players score winning goals,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “That’s good for those guys, to know that they can contribute.

“[Palffy and Allison] are what I call minute players. They get more playing minutes than the other players. When they’re on, it increases your chance of winning. It doesn’t matter what sport it is, your top guys have to be your top guys.”

Sure enough, Palffy and Allison played the most minutes of all the King forwards Saturday. And they produced.

“The guys you’re counting on to score your goals have to do that,” Allison said. “Also, it’s important that you lead by example [in] the other sides of the game. Strong defense and sacrificing yourself for the team and being physical for the team when it’s needed.

“I haven’t scored as many goals as I have the last few years, but I’m trying to create goals other ways.”

For example, his hustle down the middle of the ice Monday night in San Jose drew two Shark defenders and cleared the way for Ken Belanger to score his second goal--of the game and the season.

It was as if the Staples Center crowd wanted to reward all of the season’s effort Saturday. Take some time to acknowledge everything it took to get to this point. They gave the Kings a standing ovation that started in the final minute of the game and gained intensity after the final buzzer. “These fans appreciate winning hockey,” defenseman Aaron Miller said. “That’s what we’re doing right now.

“People want to come and join in the excitement. We’re the same way. We love playing these games.”

Although injuries left the Sharks short-handed, they didn’t look as if they belonged on the same ice as the Kings, let alone in a tie atop the Pacific Division. On Thursday, the Kings showed they can compete at Colorado’s level as well.

After congratulating the players, Anschutz and Anschutz Entertainment Group President Tim Leiweke walked down the hallway, where they encountered Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry as he arrived for his team’s game against Phoenix. They stopped and chatted, and as they parted Leiweke encouraged Gentry’s bid for the playoffs: “We’ve got the dates on hold.”

Hopefully, they’ll give the Clippers until 6 p.m. the day of the reservations to cancel, because their prospects of actually showing up are starting to dim.

Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury and even the ghost of Dan Majerle (he can’t still be hitting jumpers in the NBA, can he?) made a series of heartbreaking shots as the Suns beat the Clippers, 97-94. L.A. fell 21/2 games behind Utah in the race for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

The fans went through all the emotions. They booed the Clippers’ horrible start. They cheered their comeback from a 16-point deficit. They moaned when Eric Piatkowski’s last-ditch three-point attempt missed and no foul was called.

The Clippers were absent in the first half. Phoenix enjoyed a steady mix of layups, open jumpers and offensive rebounds, while three-fifths of the Clippers’ starting lineup did not make a field goal. It looked like the old days, when every reference to the Clippers included the word “hapless.”

But the starters battled back in the third, playing so well that Gentry rode the whole lineup all the way until the last minute of the quarter.

In addition to the injured players in street clothes (Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette and Keyon Dooling), Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles are banged up.

Dragging an aching body through the final stretch of the season and into the playoffs is just one of the lessons the Clippers need to learn. Another is consistency, because this wasn’t close to the same 48-minute effort they showed at Golden State on Thursday.

“The thing I try to emphasize to them is it’s a whole different beast,” Gentry said. “All the games are extremely hard. There’s really no margin of error for us.”

As well as they’ve played lately, the same thing goes for the Kings, winners of six consecutive games. Lose six in a row and they could drop out of the playoffs.

But they’re looking much more playoff-ready than the Clippers.

And how would Staples Center handle the scheduling if the Lakers, Kings and Clippers make the playoffs?

“It’ll tax us, but we’re ready for it,” Leiweke said. “We’ll figure that out. I hope it happens. It’ll be fantastic for the city, fantastic for the building.”

If the Clippers can’t rally, days such as Saturday--when the Clippers and Kings played the day after the Lakers--will be as close as we all get.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at: j.a.adande@latimes.com.

T.J. Simers is on vacation.