Clippers Not Bad, but Spurs Have the Goods

So this is how it ends, with the Clippers running in place, huffing and puffing and gaining no ground in their frantic playoff chase?

Perhaps it was asking too much of them Monday against the San Antonio Spurs, winners of 13 consecutive and looking (finally?) as if they mean business in the West. The Clippers were good, but the Spurs were better. Michael Olowokandi was superb, but Tim Duncan was sensational.

Final score: Spurs 91, Clippers 85.

Time is running out on the Clippers, who remained 21/2 games out of a Western Conference playoff spot. They simply had no time to dwell over their second consecutive loss. They boarded a chartered airplane that took them to Sacramento, where they face the Kings tonight.

No rest for the weary.

“It’s not a must-win game, but we need a win,” power forward Elton Brand said of facing the Kings.

Staples Center crackled with energy Monday, a sellout of 20,128 anticipating a Clipper victory and the end of the Spurs’ 12-game winning streak. The Clippers did their part, taking a 13-point lead in the third quarter and playing with the requisite sense of urgency.

Down the stretch, San Antonio surged and the Clippers weakened. Why it happened was open to debate. The Clippers believed it had something to do with 27 fouls called against them and only 14 whistled against the Spurs.

“I thought we deserved to win,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “I thought we played hard enough to win. I thought we did everything we needed to do to win. I’ll leave it at that.”

Duncan also had a great deal to do with the Clippers’ loss, making 13 of 25 shots and seven of 10 free throws en route to 33 points. He also had 13 rebounds. Olowokandi countered with 26 points (on 11-for-26 shooting) and 17 rebounds. Brand had 15 points and 10 rebounds for his 50th double-double, but got into foul trouble and wasn’t of much help late.

“We’ve got to keep it together better,” Eric Piatkowski said of letting a double-digit lead get away. “Tim Duncan stepped up and had a huge game. San Antonio is playing better than anyone else in the league right now. We’ve just got to stay close to Utah because we’ve still got two games against them.”

Utah lost at Seattle on Monday, so a Clipper victory could have brought them to within 11/2 games with 11 to play, including head-to-head games against the Jazz on Saturday at Staples Center and April 3 at Salt Lake City.

Instead, the ninth-place Clippers stayed 21/2 games behind the eighth-place Jazz and fell four behind the seventh-place SuperSonics. Eight teams will advance to the playoffs and the Clippers are the odd team out at the moment.

“I’m not upset that we lost,” Gentry said. “I have no complaints with the way we played. We did a good job defensively. I told my players I’m proud of them because they did what they were asked to do.”

Indeed. All that the Clippers were missing in Saturday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns was on display Monday against the Spurs. The Clippers’ passion and efficiency were evident right from the start. Unlike Saturday, there was very little wasted effort. Every step they took was meaningful.

To be sure, the Clippers were not flawless. But they were good enough to lead, 49-45, at halftime and by 72-67 after three quarters.

Darius Miles delivered an early highlight-reel move when he dribbled past San Antonio’s Danny Ferry, swept beneath the basket and dropped in a reverse layup that gave the Clippers a 43-38 lead late in the first half, helping to ignite a 10-2 run.

The Clippers led, 49-40, before San Antonio rallied in the final moments of the second quarter.

The Clippers kept rolling into the third quarter, scoring from the inside and out and building a 62-49 lead after Jeff McInnis’ jumper and free throw after Tony Parker hacked him with 8:17 left in the period.

Their double-digit lead didn’t survive the quarter. The Spurs took command early in the fourth, seizing the lead for good, 84-82, on David Robinson’s dunk and free throw after he was fouled with 3:21 remaining.

The Clippers got only a three-pointer from Piatkowski the rest of the way.

“It’s a tough loss for us, but what can we do?” McInnis asked. “

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West Race

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