Only Certainty Is Uncertainty

The locker room had emptied Saturday night, with only a few stragglers dressing quickly in an attempt to catch their teammates already on their way out of Staples Center. Coach Alvin Gentry had run out of things to say, marching to his office from his postgame news conference to fret about another fourth-quarter meltdown.

The Clippers, who did not practice Sunday, have lost nine of their last 11 games. They were 12-16 at the Christmas break, but are 6-18 since then for an overall mark of 18-34, leaving them in last place in the Pacific Division with 30 games to play.

This figures to be a compelling endgame for the Clippers, whose chances at a winning record and a playoff berth are now next to impossible.

The Clippers could make a trade before the deadline Thursday, but it doesn’t seem likely because they would be just another team hoping to pawn off high-salaried players on other teams. They also could fire Gentry, hoping a coaching change would spark something -- anything. But that also seems unlikely to happen before his contract runs out at season’s end.

So, it’s anyone’s guess what the Clippers will do down the stretch.

“Our team is getting better,” Corey Maggette said with a straight face after the Clippers were outscored, 20-6, in the final 4:16 of their 92-84 loss Saturday to the Boston Celtics. “There is no doubt about it. We’re definitely getting better. We started to get a little flow, but you’ve got to turn it into some wins and we’re not doing that. So, we’ll be back in our next game against Milwaukee and try to get a win there.”

Elton Brand, standing nearby, shook his head in bewilderment.

“With two minutes left, we’re up by four points,” he said. “You’ve got to pull that one out. They’re a team that’s been through the wars and they found a way to win. It was very disappointing, especially after a good win [Tuesday] at Phoenix and playing tough with the Wizards [on Wednesday]. This one would have at least given us some better morale.”