Clippers Exploit Cavaliers

LeBron James was in the house, which brought a big crowd.

But so too were the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers, which usually means a positive result for the home team, in addition to the added revenue.

In this case, it was the Clippers, who won, 90-80, Wednesday night in front of 17,445, their largest crowd at Staples Center this season, sending the Cavaliers to their eighth consecutive loss overall and 33rd in a row on the road.

The Clippers were outrebounded, 55-39, but they made 40% of their shots for the first time in eight games and won their second in a row.

Quentin Richardson scored 25 points, Corey Maggette 22.

For the Cavaliers, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Carlos Boozer 24 and a career-high 21 rebounds and Ricky Davis scored 16 points.

James, meanwhile, wasn’t even the best rookie on the floor. Averaging a team-high 17.6 points before Wednesday, he made only two of 13 shots, scored a season-low four points and had eight assists, six rebounds and four turnovers in 34 minutes. He was pulled with 6:46 left and didn’t return.

The Clippers’ Chris Kaman, meanwhile, scored 14 points on six-of-12 shooting, took 14 rebounds and blocked three shots, among them a fourth-quarter dunk attempt by Chris Mihm that led to a dunk by Richardson at the other end.

“He’s growing every time you see him,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said of the 7-foot first-year center from Central Michigan, the sixth pick in the June draft. “He gets a little bit better, gains a little more confidence.”

The Cavaliers, 0-12 on the road this season, haven’t won outside Cleveland since Jan. 12, when they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, 87-79.

But it wasn’t only the law of averages that worried Dunleavy.

“More scary is the fact they beat us already once this year,” he said before the game, referring to a 103-95 Clipper loss at Cleveland on Nov. 18 in which the Cavaliers led by 28 points in the second quarter. “We know they’re capable of beating us, and we’ve got to come do the things we need to do defensively in order to have a chance to win the game. They’ve got a lot of talent.”

The Cavaliers haven’t won since beating the Clippers last month, but they started fast again Wednesday, scoring all but two of the first 16 points and building their lead to 29-16.

By halftime, though, their lead had evaporated, the Clippers putting together a 17-4 second-quarter run carried by Richardson.

His twisting layup in the final seconds of the half brought a fists-to-forehead salute from actress-pop singer Brandy, seated along the baseline with tennis star Serena Williams, and turned into a three-point play when he added a free throw.

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The Clippers continue to dance around a return date for Elton Brand, who practiced Tuesday after X-rays showed his broken right foot was healed.

“I told him, ‘Whenever you feel comfortable, conditioning-wise, just let me know,’ ” Dunleavy said. “I don’t want to say [anything] so that he thinks I’m expecting him. I’m not. It’s just whenever he tells me. I don’t want him to feel any pressure.”

A Friday return against the Utah Jazz has not been ruled out, but Brand probably won’t play before next week.