No Brand, No Chance for Clippers

The Clippers’ throwaway season continued Wednesday night.

With Elton Brand, their leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker, missing because of what’s being called a bruise on his lower left leg, the Clippers trotted out their 16th different starting lineup this season.

The Golden State Warriors have used the same one since opening night and took an all-too-predictable 108-94 victory from the Clippers before a grumpy crowd of 15,273 at Staples Center.

All five Warrior starters scored in double figures, led by Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas, who had 18 points apiece.

“They play together,” Clipper swingman Corey Maggette said of the Warriors. “They jumped on us early. They came out ready to play and hit shots. They went to the boards hard. Everything went well for them.”

The Clippers lost for the 12th time in their last 15 games. Golden State has won four consecutive games, moving within three games of the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“Just another great night,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said without a trace of humor before the game. “It’s ridiculous is what it is. It’s a joke.”

Gentry was speaking of playing without Brand, injured on Shaquille O’Neal’s monster dunk late in the Clippers’ loss Tuesday to the Lakers.

Gentry could just as easily been talking about what’s happened to the Clippers since the Christmas break. They were 12-16 then, but only 7-21 since.

When reporters approached Brand before the game to ask about the injury, Brand excused himself by saying he would be “right back.” Some 45 minutes later, he was still in the trainer’s room, which is off limits to reporters, undergoing treatment.

“It happened when Shaq dunked the ball and everybody else around him through the basket,” Gentry said.

Even Gentry wasn’t certain about the severity of the injury, learning about it only hours before Wednesday’s game. He offered to check on Brand’s condition since Brand was out of reach.

After a moment in the training room, Gentry returned and said, “He will not play at all tonight.”

Cherokee Parks started in place of Brand and had five points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.

Instead of showing their depths, the Clippers sank to them at the start Wednesday. They missed 13 of their first 25 shots, fell behind, 30-20, by the end of the first quarter and , 60-42, by halftime.

The Warriors outshot the Clippers, 43.8% to 36.3% overall and generally looked excited to be playing.

The Clippers, after a credible run for 3 1/2 quarters Tuesday against the Lakers before falling, looked spent.

The Clippers’ lone highlight was Eric Piatkowski’s three-point basket with 2:48 to go in the first quarter, which put him over the 5,000-point mark and into eighth place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.

Piatkowski, who scored a team-best 17 points, seemed more intrigued by the Warriors’ ability to keep their starting five intact this season than by his milestone.

“Have they really?” he said. “You mean every single game they’ve had the same five starters? That’s impressive.”

Indeed.